Patience comes in snow

I woke up to a fresh white blanket of snow where there had been no snow. Much to my surprise I was somewhat moved by the change of scenery over night. All winter long we complain about the snow. We curse the icy roads and those poor souls who "don't keep up with the weather" but are responsible for our travel safety. At the first thought of spring, which arrived in February this year, my fellow Iowans were jumping out of their boots and ready to get outside. Maybe it was because I missed the worst part of winter (remember, research) but I knew winter wasn't over quite yet. I kept my winter coat on, stayed bundled up in mittens and scarves and waited. This morning I was greeted by the snow I knew was coming.

It was comforting to me to know winter wasn't over. Why?! Well frankly, I'm just not ready. I'm not ready for spring. I don't think I'm even ready for spring break. I have piles of research articles that need to be read before spring; I have labs and tests that I'm not ready to do; I have overgrown house plants that need to be prepared for spring; I have a whole mess of last years pots, still full of soil and dead plants, that needs to be cleaned out. I'm just not ready. Usually I'm jumping up and down doing spring chants to get it here as fast as possible, but this year I'm working on my patience. I'm teaching myself to take life one day at a time, after all, it's all you really can do in grad school! I think if I learn to be patient with the never-ending season of snow I can be patient with myself and what I have yet to experience when I leave the university.

By the way, this was the view...