Traditionally, spring has been about new beginnings and a rebirth from the dead of winter. From religion recognizing Easter and Passover, to cherry blossoms in our nation’s capital, to a new season of baseball, spring brings a sense of promise, growth, and transformation.
Over the years, and with a little help from Hallmark and other capitalist influencers, spring is also a time to honor thy mother and thy father.
Yes, every May and June we celebrate them; each with their own special day. On Mother’s Day we laud the indelible impact a mother has on one’s heart and well-being. Likewise, on Father’s Day we champion the role of a father as a pillar of strength.
We also buy overpriced flowers for mom and get dad another grill or dood-dad (pun intended) that he doesn’t really need. Yet we do it because we love our parents. For those of us who are parents, we graciously accept these gifts from our children because we love them andd love being parents.
Interestingly, spring is also a time that we as a nation recognize the challenge and cruelty that diminished capacity has on our parents:
- April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month;
- May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and National Elder Law Month;
- June is focused on ending Alzheimer’s Disease.
As such, spring has evolved to be a season all about the cycle of parenthood – what it means to love and care for a child as they grow up, and what it means to love and care for a parent as they grow old.
At my age (46), I am right in the thick of it. I’m sandwiched between raising kids and helping parents. My father will be 80 in a few months and my father-in-law is already there. My mother-in-law was 75 when she went to heaven. My mom is the spring chicken in the group at 71, but some days her body betrays her as it acts much older. If you are not in the same period of life as I am yet, you will be; if you’ve been there you know exactly what I mean.
Life is about transitions. Change is constant. Just when we get to the point of feeling like we got this or we are where we want to be, it shifts. Life is like a river that we constantly cross. From a distance it appears familiar, but up close we can see that the current ensures that it’s never the same water we step in twice.
New beginnings can be painful because something old has to end first. Whether that end is youth, physical ability, mental acuity, or life itself, all must come to an end before we move forward to the next stage. There is sadness to it, but also a beauty in its rhythm, symmetry, and balance.
For all those out there struggling with these transitions on both sides of the age aisle – whether you are a parent caring for or worrying about a child or you are a child caring for and worrying about a parent – I dedicate this spring season to you.
I also pray for your strength and perseverance to embrace the seasons of change in your life no matter how hard, and may they deepen the love you feel in your heart.
Keep being amazing.
