There are so many things that I love about spring. Tulips! I have always loved tulips! When I was a kid, I would inspect the progress of the tulips in the front yard on a daily basis. When they were emerging from the ground, I would speculate on what colors we would get. I love all of the colors. I think a big vase full of multi-colored tulips is perfection. In college, I lived on the tiny campus of Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, PA. In 1998, when I began my freshman year, the campus was little more than a 6 square block area. I would walk to my 8am biology and chemistry classes and find the best tulips that week. Then under the cloak of darkness, I would take a study break around 10 or 11pm, grab a pair of scissors, and go cut down the tulips I had pre-screened earlier that day. I’m sure that the grounds people were wondering what was happening to all of their tulips. They would last a week or so, and in the meantime, I would keep an eye out for the next flowerbed that was in bloom. I have no regrets that I was a tulip-bandit. I think that having those flowers on my desk while I was studying was a comfort. It reminded me of a time when I didn’t place my self worth on a grade from a biology exam. And it made me smile.

I think that spring holds the potential for provoking a lot of smiles. It’s said that spring is a time of rebirth. After the cold dark winter, spring comes along and everything is made new again. Flowers bloom, trees are leafy green, and the birds are chirping first thing in the morning. The beautiful weather in D.C. is enough to make me smile. It’s been absolutely gorgeous the past few weeks. Other things that make me smile this time of year: squirrels (I just think they are cute), little kids in sunglasses, and local farmers’ markets. Also, Cadbury Eggs. Love love love Cadbury Eggs. I hope that everyone else can take a minute or two and find something to smile about. Happy spring!