The First Day

Every year, sometime in late-February, there is that first day.

For the first time after a long winter, the sun is out, and you can feel its nurturing warmth.

It is warm in the house, and you want to open the windows. The fresh air smells and feels great.

The heat is off in the car, and you open the windows as you drive. The snow melts, and you no longer have to rush from the car to your office or the grocery store. You can linger outside.

And, it feels great. That’s what today feels like to me.

Here in New England, we are a land of seasons. The first frost on blades of grass signals the coming of autumn. The smell of logs burning in fireplaces foreshadows Thanksgiving.

Winter storms mean it is time to hunker down, ski when you can, and, for me, the best time to fly fish. The rivers are empty then, the fish are difficult to catch, but, everywhere, it is a Winter Wonderland.

And, then, one day, the weather shifts. We start to glide towards spring, when buds appear on trees, the earth warms, and the birds return with their morning cacophony before dawn.

Bugs start to emerge from the earth and the rivers, making both the birds and the fish very happy. You start to make flies for the coming high-season of trout fishing, and this never-ending cycle of seasons and nature begins again.

It also is Lent. You abstain from meat on Fridays, and you again have given up alcohol. There also you find another cycle, a spiritual one that involves introspection and renewal, both at the same time.

Enjoy today. It is The First Day. It is time to let in fresh air anew into our homes, cars and our very lives.

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