Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The Forgetful Body



It's balmy today, supposedly it will get even balmier (is that a word?) later on. The air is so soft, the birdsong is so sweet, that already my body is forgetting the sensation of cold.

Spring is here, my body is saying. Pull your shorts out of the closet, dig through your shoe stash and locate the sandals. Shave your legs, for God's sake.

What my mind knows, but my body does not realize, is that this is still February. Warm as it is today, and even though the days are getting longer and longer, Winter is still in full force. We'll see more very cold weeks, might even see some snow (I hope).

Maybe it's the short term memory problems of the body that make spring a season of ever-changing moods. Our bodies expect warmth and comfort, but spring is never the way it's "supposed" to be. Raw and blustery one day, warm and lovely the next, hotter than hell the following day, then back to windy, rainy and chilly. My mind knows only too well that spring is a disturbed season.

Nevertheless, give me a couple of days like today, and my body longs for spring, forgetting all its inconsistancies. Clearly there is some kind of disconnect between the two.

27 comments:

Unknown said...

Spring: definitely the most unruly season. Nice post; out here in chilly Idaho I wouldn't mind some DC or Virginia February weather.

Squirrel said...

You're so right, spring is disturbed! I can take the mud and rain and the N'oresters roaring through --The thing I look forward to least in spring is hearing all of the icky details about allergies from people. pollen counts become the thing to talk about it seems, and pollen hangs around for a long time, so the conversations do too. I know these people are miserable every spring, so it is sad, too. On the plus side I love seeing the first crocus, the early spring greens that are different from any other green, the bird activity in the gardens, snow melt off the mountains, you can feel the fertility.

Tessa said...

I think spring...or even the feeling of it...is nature's way of saying IT'S TIME TO PARTY!

Anonymous said...

spring is indeed unruly and hard to predict..kinda like my favorite people...
xoxo

Lulu LaBonne said...

It feels springy here today too, it's the opimism in us.

Nice pix
x

Lulu LaBonne said...

BTW - That was optimism

Reya Mellicker said...

Tessa, I agree. And yes, BTY, my favorite people in the world are unpredictable and unruly - and never boring.

Vanessa Bates said...

Yeah we went from being in the teens for a low last week to being in the 80's today. I will be glad when the weather makes up its mind. I am sooo ready for the spring to get here.

Love the photo btw :) I really like photos with reflections.

The bloggah said...

I do so enjoy spring, but alas it reminds me of the jiggly bits that have been hiding safely under heavy sweaters and baggy clothes all winter. Now, I've got to take off the feed bag and get on the treadmill more. Hope springs eternal!

Tess Kincaid said...

I always dread pulling out the spring clothes and finding they are a tad snug from the layer of winter blub. Don't scare me.

Balmier here, today, too.

Butternut Squash said...

When I left last week everything was grey and ice. I returned to find that there is green between the razor stubble in the corn fields. The unpaved roads in the village are all 'asquish.' I hate to walk on this thin covering of new grass because it tears like fresh flesh on a healing wound.

Joanne said...

It's nature's little preview of what's to come, but not before a little more winter for sure!

Sandra Leigh said...

Heh. I'm feeling a bit guilty here, using the air conditioner to get through the hottest part of the Mexican day - but I've spent enough winters in Canada to know the exhilaration that comes with the first, usually false, sign of Spring. Great, isn't it?

Reya Mellicker said...

Sorry to give you the willies, Willow. Yes there is always that early spring discomfort, but the upside is that means I get outdoors, get on the bike or take a super long walk like I did today.

On my walk I dispensed with the short term memory of the body theory and came up with a new idea.

The body lives in the present. When it's warm, the body wants to move and feel exhiliaration. The mind makes up a story to go with that sensation which, in the case of me, is that the mind "decides" it's now spring. In a week or so when I'm shivering, my mind will make up a story to go with that sensation, too.

Unknown said...

I love that new idea; I'll have to ponder that a good deal.

Sarah Laurence said...

It’s even warm enough in Maine to melt the snow. I’ll be envying you during cherry blossom season. You are so right that all it takes is a thaw to make us yearn in body for spring. Lovely photo – trees seem to be your muse.

e said...

Nice posting. It is 80 here today, with a great wind, so no-one feels too hot...

The mind definitely fills in any vacuum, like the disonance between what should be winter but feels like spring or the return of winter following a spate of spring-like days(boy, does that sound like a poem hatching)...I say, enjoy whatever you can of each!

Phoebe sends her regards and wants you to know she landed well despite the nasty take off!

Mrsupole said...

It is 57 here in Southern CA and the sun is shining, after 5 days of rain we have had 2 days of sunshine, but both days were cold. At least for us this is cold.

I love it when the weather is like this. But we are so thankful for the rain, and we are hoping for more rainy days to come. If the rain keeps up then it will help with the drought and keep the cost of food down. We need to save everywhere we can. Sometimes I forget how much produce California provides for the nation. Then they remind us on the news and we start praying for rain. So rain is good!

I love the tree picture, I think I never notice reflections the way you do. I need to work on seeing them more. Thank you again.

Amy said...

Today in AZ we were in the 50's. It felt like Winter to my body. By the weekend it's supposed to be back into the 80's. How will this Midwestern girl ever adjust to the weather not matching the seasons?!

I adore your postings and as always, your pictures are fabulous.

Delwyn said...

The memory of the body and the memory of the mind are different. Trauma sufferers seem to split one from the other and they never lie down together in the brain in sync.

So maybe the body's memories are more powerful.??

(Babette Rothschild wrote 'The Body Remembers')

Unknown said...

Very nice pictures and blog!

e said...

Reya,

I sent an e-mail...Thanks!

Susan English Mason said...

Reya, I have to tell you again, those roses are gorgeous. Spring is definitely in the air. February is a long hard month for me to get through. It's a short month but to me it lasts forever.

Nancy said...

Why is it that the first warm week we think spring is here to stay? Even though we know it is going to be cold again? It is almost like we are forever optimists when it comes to the warm after the cold.

Ronda Laveen said...

Yes, I believe that the body lives in present time. It is on this "Earthwalk." The mind, the soul...well they have been many places and have many more to visit.

Thinking of spring as distrubed gives a new image to the term "Disturbia."

Moonroot said...

I think the body does long for warmer days, and we can get carried away in the first flush of enthusiasm. It was entertaining in springlike Barcelona to see the British tourists (having escaped the arctic weather in the UK) sightseeing in shirtsleeves while the Barcelonians were still huddled in thick coats and boots!

Barbara Martin said...

Reya, don't put your snuggies away yet. I heard there's going to be snowflurries this evening in Toronto.