It’s a growing time

While opening day for both baseball and the community pool has come and gone, the significance of both remains, especially here in the Lowcountry. While this is also pollen season (you don’t need to don an Augusta National green jacket here, just sit outside for a little while and you’ll have your very own “green jacket,”) it is also truly a growing time.

Since we moved here back at the tail end of summer in 2021, I wrestle with whether my favorite time of the year here is spring or fall. Maybe it’s a throwback to decades of teaching, or maybe it’s the blooming out after the long northeast winter, but spring continues to “win” in my 50-50 annual poll.

When I was teaching, spring meant that the year was winding down, you could pretty much put weather related disturbances aside, classes were beginning to see the focus of where each course was headed, the AP Calculus exam was coming up and those classes were in full “spring training” mode. The other classes were beginning to prepare for closure and final exams, and the anticipation of graduation for the seniors was in full bloom. Golf courses were opening, the days were getting longer, the air was ripe with the fragrance of perennials beginning to break the surface. Backyard tomato plants were being put in with the anticipation of summer salads, and summer days on the beach were within sight.

The reason, then, that spring won out over fall, even though the leaves were beautiful for a few weeks, was that fall represented exactly the opposite in terms of teaching. The excitement of a new year had worn off, there was a lot of work ahead, occasionally there would be a shocking warning of weather to come with a quick frost or even a fall snow or ice event and the beach was an afterthought.

While a lot of that has changed for me now in full, glorious, retirement life, spring is still time to plant, the lawns come back from being dormant and are in full greenery (and of course need to be mowed again, so there’s that), the heat that mirrors the surface of the sun and the humidity has not yet descended upon us.

Despite the unheated pool still being a bit chilly, it too, is a reminder of a long stretch of what is to come in terms of my favorite exercise. The morning air is crisp and refreshing both for walks and just sitting outside with a morning coffee. Hurricane season is still a few months away and does linger into much of the fall so while the non storm weather in the fall is spectacular, those “clouds” of doubt hanging overhead present another reason why even here, spring takes the slot over fall.

While outdoor events happen all year, another benefit of mostly mild weather throughout, the Heritage golf tournament, The Hilton Head Food and Wine Festival and Bluffton’s Mayfest, all happen early in the spring.

Local running events also take advantage of the spectacular weather, and this year, I took part in the event kicking off Heritage week: The Plaid Nation 5k. I crossed the finish line just as Bruce’s “Land of Hope and Dreams” was finishing on my playlist and while I was preceded across the line by more than a half hour by the winner of the men’s 80+ age group, I was able to do what I signed up for…to finish!! Another “growing time” for me as I had not done a formal 5K since we moved down.

New lawns, new flowers, comfortable temperatures, even new restaurants opening (even that seems to happen more in the spring, or at least it feels that way). Hope does “spring” eternal. Just a few of Dan Fogelberg’s lyrics from the song that sparked my thoughts today from his final album:

“It’s a growing time

Kevin Fitzpatrick is a retired teacher who, along with his wife Sue (also a retired teacher) is enjoying exploring life in the lowcountry and all it has to offer.