Always a spring chicken

I don't want to speak to soon, but it does seem like spring is here. Since I was young, springtime has given me a markedly different kind of energy: a sense of urgency and aliveness that I literally couldn't summon if I tried at any other time of the year.  I clean out, organize, purge, work until late and still wake up energized, and in short, just get a lot of shit done. Spring has always been when I broke up with boyfriends, started new relationships, questioned who I was with, where I was living, my job, and even why I do the things I do. It's almost like anything and everything is possible in the spring, so why not shake it all up and trust in the consistency of spring's awakening to ensure that everything nurtured will still bloom.

It's no surprise that my birthday is in spring, and just four days away now. This year is the big one: 40. Actually, I don't know if it's that huge of a milestone now that all the "big" ones keep getting pushed back. Nonetheless, it feels monumental. My passport is about to expire, and when I booked my appointment at the consulate to renew it, I realized that the picture in my passport was taken when I had just turned 30. I remember the copy shop around the corner from my apartment in Paris where I did those photos. I have been looking at that same picture for a decade now, and when I renew my passport at the end of this month, I'll take the picture that I'll look at until I turn 50. Considering this past decade included Paris, Abu Dhabi, Milwaukee, getting married, buying a house, having two children and getting a dog, maintaining a career in education, then selling the house and moving to Lisbon, a lot can happen in ten years. It's rather mind blowing to think about what the next 10 will bring. And there's no question in my mind that the biggest changes will likely be instigated or executed in the spring.