Time for Tulips
You know the stomach- dropping feeling you have when you get into your car and realize that the windshield wipers will simply not have enough power to break through the ice? After ten minutes of physical exertion and sweating through your down jacket, you attempt to thaw out your fingers by hovering them over the heat waves seeping out of the vents, or in my 2004 Acura’s case, more like lukewarm puffs of air every twenty seconds or so. As my fellow Coloradoans can probably attest, this is what the past few Winter months have entailed and needless to say, I’m delighted to know that it is coming to a close.
The other day at the office, when I decided to take a quick break and walk down the block to grab a coffee, is when I first realized the major change. Not only was I comfortable in a t-shirt, but I was actually somewhat overheating on the walk down Zuni street. Iced coffee, short sleeves, and a cloudless Monday. Looks like it’s time for tulips.
March twentieth marked the first day of Spring, which is exciting, terrifying, crazy, and wonderful all at the same time. I could’ve sworn I was just writing up a blog on New Year’s Resolutions, and now I am shoving my snow boots towards the back of my closet.
Springtime in Colorado means the return of the dreaded street sweepers and although there are signs on every corner, I will indeed forget and will indeed, receive a parking ticket. Springtime also brings strange weather patterns that result in an awkward clothing phase for most of us. An arctic tundra in the morning is followed by a heat wave in the afternoon, making it impossible to pick the appropriate attire. Name something worse than wearing a heavy jacket and then quickly realizing you don’t need it so for the rest of the day your coat becomes an extra limb as you lug it around everywhere you go. A personal nightmare of mine.
Springtime leads you to believe that 60-degree days are the norm, but a heavy snowstorm in May is certainly not off the table either-so don’t put your snow scraper too far. Spring is for when you are finally ready to retire the jeans and throw on the shorts only to be blinded by Vitamin D deficient skin.
Springtime is tulip filled flower beds and yelling at the deer that eat them. It is graduations, Easter bunnies, moving trucks, and Sunday morning trips to the Home depot garden section. Spring is opening day for the Colorado Rockies, which should be a statewide holiday. Warm weather paired with purple jerseys, the rumble of a stadium that has patiently awaited this day for a year, and rooftops full of happy (and tipsy) fans. Longer days, shorter pants, and colder coffees are the reward for making it through the Winter months, and are a glimpse into summer’s approach.
Spring is a time where, after months of dark, cold days, we get to enjoy 7pm sunsets and blooming flowers. I love spring because spending time outside is finally enjoyable again and I genuinely start to feel my daily motivation to work, workout, and be healthy increase.
My desk at Explore, right by the front door, is always illuminated by the natural light that floods in through the big, front windows-one of my absolute favorite parts of the office, and something I miss when I work from home.
Research shows that warm weather in the spring improves mental health, memory, and increases one’s openness to new information and creative thoughts. In that same research, studies show that when you spend time inside while the weather is warm outside, your mood decreases and your cognitive ability narrows. Maybe that’s why I love being in the office so much-natural light and propped open doors literally makes me work harder.
I love the idea that spending thirty minutes outside a day is scientifically proven to better one’s mental health. With COVID-19 forcing us indoors, many of us have experienced work from home fatigue. I can’t speak for everyone but personally, taking short breaks throughout the day to get outside, take a walk around the block, sit on the porch, has been critical to keeping me afloat this last year. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with attention, motivation, pleasure, and mood increases with more exposure to sunlight. So if science proves that Spring makes people happy, I am welcoming this new season with open arms, and open windows.
I think that’s ultimately why Spring is such a great time of the year. We wouldn’t enjoy it as much if we hadn’t just experienced Winter, and in this unique situation, if we hadn’t experienced the impact of the pandemic. The cliché is not lost on me, but I really do think that soaking up the sun feels a little bit better after braving through months of cold weather. Rainy afternoons in April will bring us light-filled days in May, along with more hope and inspiration for the rest of 2021.
For Explore Communications, Springtime is bringing us a new baby, an internship, marketing conventions, and Postino lunches. We are busier than ever with new business at our agency, and we are jumping into Spring feeling lucky for all of our new clients, and grateful for our old ones. We are looking towards the next few months hopeful that we will get to be with each other more consistently in the office and excited to see what else the Spring has in store for us.
It’s time to reward ourselves for making it through all that we have. Spring is the time to open the blinds, pull out the hiking books, plant the flowers, and play in the light. We are ready for whatever Spring is bringing with it, allergies and all.
It’s time for Tulips.
Written for Explore Communications on March 31, 2021
