Groundhog Day

There’s something healing about Groundhog Day.  We anticipate it and some of us hope for a cloudy day so the hoggy will not see his shadow and spring will arrive sooner than the 6 weeks it will actually take. We also use this as a place marker, a midpoint of winter. It’s a time when we can breath a sigh of relief that we have past the mid point and realize we can move forward and truly make it ’til spring.

I always start looking at the seed catalogs in late January and dreaming of idyllic gardens and the cascades of flowers that will undoubtedly burst forth in my yard sometime in May. Realistically, not only will this not happen, but I don’t even know why I receive these catalogs. As far as I know I never ordered anything from a seed catalog. My Dad used to order every year as long as I can remember. Maybe they just decided to send them on to me since he is gone now.

Some of us also start dreaming of Spring Training and the baseball season to come. In truth, I only really like baseball in the spring when it is not too hot to sit out at the stadium and watch it. By mid June (sometimes early June) it becomes so hot it’s just unpleasant to sit still with thousands of other sweaty baseball fans and concentrate on watching the game. But this time of year, when spring training is yet to start, I am filled with the desire to hear the crack of the bat and feel the excitement of the crowd as the game gets underway.

So the groundhog fills the heart with the pleasant anticipation of days to come–days filled with sun, warm rain, flowers, and all the outdoor games and fun we miss so much during the cold and dark of winter. I am hoping the little guy does not see his shadow today and we can have that early spring of our desire.