By my count, spring has come and gone three times this month so far – thaw, freeze, snow, repeat – which is sort of strange, even by Ottawa standards. The weather forecast is suggesting that the next iteration of “spring” will come a day or two from now, just as actual “calendar spring” arrives. I remain skeptical, however. This is Ottawa. I’ve lived here long enough to remember the year we got a foot and a half of snow on May 15th.
Nevertheless, I can’t deny that there is a feeling in the air. The sun is more serious, the light more intense. The Canada geese, who apparently don’t pay attention to the weather forecast, have returned to the half-frozen ponds and the melting river. They know it’s time to start again.
It has always seemed to me that there are so many chances in a year to start again, to have a minor New Year. For those of us who live by the rhythm of the school year, September feels like a beginning, and the first day of a new month always seems like a particularly auspicious day to begin a project or a journey. Even a standard issue Monday morning is a perfectly good place to start again. Because really, can you have too many second chances?
Two days last week, I put aside promoting The Kitchen Sink Sutra, sat myself down at the keyboard and wrote a thousand new words on Date Square Dharma. And it felt really good.
What are you waiting for, dear reader?
Begin.
P.
P.S. The happiest six words an author can hear: “Can’t wait for the next book…”
Can’t wait for the next book. First one got me to LA. What the heck am I supposed to read on the 5 hour flight home?
Obviously, I have to write faster…