Isn't It Supposed to Be Spring?--A Paragraph a Day

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another.
The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.
Henry van Dyke

We're about a week into spring now, and it doesn't look a whole lot different outdoors than it did three weeks ago.  I had to scrape ice off of my windshield this morning, and we've had some pretty bitter winds and grey days this past week.  But that's okay.  It's only spring in name so far, and I've learned over time to temper my wants and desires and allow myself to accept things as they are rather than being upset that they aren't as I would prefer them to be.  I'd love to come home from work and be able to go for a nice long bike ride, but that's not in the cards yet.  And that's okay.  We can't expect something major to happen like a change in season just because the calendars that we make say that it's the first day of spring.  If we want to get the most out of our days, we can't spend time and energy wishing the days were different, because they aren't.  The warmer days will be here soon enough, but for now it's important that we just take what we get because there's absolutely no way we can change it.  And once we accept the days for what they are, our own peace of mind grows and our stress levels decrease, both rather significantly.  It's spring in name only right now, and the best we can do is wait for true spring to arrive, and to love the days we get until then, just as they are.