The Rites of Spring

On February 2nd, we got to see a lot of footage of a groundhog telling us when spring would arrive. It's very cute and entertaining, but hardly scientific and wildly misleading. Furthermore, a lot of people have their own way of determining when spring is arriving. In meteorological terms, it's March 1st every year because it's easier to remember. Other people say it's after they see the first robin of the year. Some people place it at Easter. And all those people who've been corrupted by science and believe in what the shills from Big Calendar say, it's March 20th this year. However, they're all wrong since spring officially arrives when pitchers and catchers arrive at spring training, which started yesterday. Therefore, spring is here. Don't be fooled by the thermometer, or vernal equinoxes, or Big Calendar or those snowstorms heading toward Chicago - it's spring and we should enjoy it.

Now, as I see the pitchers and catchers for the Cubs starting to warm up and get into shape (aside from the Dodgers, the other 28 teams don't technically start spring training until next week), it means time to start the spring habits. This again differs wildly for people. For some, it means spring cleaning. For others, time to change the smoke detector batteries and get out the lawn gear (maybe after those snowstorms pass through). For me as a writer, it means time to get into some new habits, and spring is the perfect time for them.

Plenty of people might say they decided what new habits they would get into at the beginning of the year, kind of like a new resolution thing. Well, first, how's that working for you? But seriously, everyone has the time they dedicate for starting new things, and I choose the freshness of the coming spring to put me into motion. Yes, I may still be wearing layers and shoveling my driveway as I do them, but it doesn't mean they are any less valid. Here are the things I am dedicating as a writer to put into gear, and some things I will definitely check off the list:

• Write a poem of no less than 200 words
• Do some big rewriting of some old but publishable ideas
• Finish the groundwork for two other books that need to hit the next drafting stage
• Do my first draft on a new project

Those are the things I have on the list that relate to writing, and they speak for themselves. They are missions I have set out to do because they will settle my inner writer's tensions and anxieties, which will therefore free up some energies for the actual creative process. And on that note, I offer the reminder that anything that relieves tension or anxiety will free up energies, so I offer a few bonus things that will help me be creative even though they are not directly writing-related:

• Finally go to that improv class (nothing exercises the creative muscles like improv)
• Get the back rim to my off-road bike repaired (cycling puts me at ease)
• Spread my mother's ashes (this, while very freeing, is actually also a baseball thing. #IYKYK)

And now that spring is officially here, I have every reason to get myself in motion and begin all those things that come with the renewal and awakening of springtime. As a writer, I have a lot to do, and as a creative, I have habits to build, both to be done in this new season. Amidst the warmer temperatures, the budding leaves, and the longer days, I can sum up my feelings about springtime's rebirth in two simple words: PLAY BALL!