Seasons Change and So Do We
It seems that the rainy season — also known as winter here in Costa Rica — has decided to visit us a bit early. Clouds dot our usually-blue sky and refuse to let the sun shine through. Thunder grumbles and lightning paints electric landscapes over the Central Valley. Torrential rains gush over my sandals and drown my toes in their cool depths. I think I’m going to like the winter.
I’ve always been amazed at how seasons end just when we need them to. In the States, I was invariably ready to bid a happy farewell to the bitter cold of winter just as the first blooms of spring began to peek out of their buds. The unbearable heat of summer always began to wane just as popsicles and dips in the pool ceased to suffice. And right when the death of autumn started to bore and depress me, a crisp scent in the air and a white snowy blanket ushered in the winter. Like clockwork, every time.
Things were beginning to get a bit too brown for my tastes: the cherry tomato vine is whithered, flowers are either wilted or dead, and I seem to constantly have dust up my nose. Of course, when I arrived three months ago, these symptoms of summer were a welcome respite from the harsh cold of January in Virginia. But no longer. I’m ready for the months ahead. I’m ready to get stuck in afternoon downpours. I’m ready to be woken by thunder and lightning storms. I’m ready for nature to do me the favor of watering my garden.
Individual moments go by so slowly: the clock on the wall, minute hand slowly tic-tocking the way around its 360° path, draws to a close each seemingly-interminable day. But the big picture whizzes by us, quicker than we would sometimes like to admit. College ends before we even realize we are no longer green-around-the-ears freshmen. No sooner have we signed the lease on our first apartment, then we find ourselves perusing the Yellow Pages for a mover. We barely have time to take photos of our tiny kitten before he grows into a mischievous, but much larger version of himself. With a blink of an eye, things change.
We live each phase of our lives and just as one ends, we are ready for the beginning of another. Perhaps that’s the way we cope with saying goodbye to moments past. Perhaps not. But it is, unequivocally, how it is. We can hide from many things, even from ourselves, but time is the one thing we cannot evade. Father Time wages his war on all of us. He brings us wrinkles, higher insurance premiums, and harder decisions. But he is also kind enough to bring us self-confidence, wisdom, and the ability to turn dreams into reality.
As the season changes, I’m aware that life changes, as well. I look back on the last five years and I see a girl who has become a woman. An insecure person who, despite her occasional weaknesses, has become strong and confident. Someone who has managed to escape the Big Bad Wolf while walking life’s path. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know big changes are ahead. The quarter-century mark looms in my not-too-distant future, and with it, dreams and expectations for myself. And I’m ready for it all. Because each new phase of life holds great treasures and experiences to be had.
Muy bonito tu blog…. seguiré leyendo tus aventuras por Costa Rica…
Saludos desde México
great post! we need more of these!
enjoy the rain
Loved it. Unlucky for me, with your title for this post you beat me to the one line I would’ve loved to use in this comment. x)
Thanks for reminding me of a beautiful, natural scenery that’s around me too–but easily lost in the metropolitan way of life. It’s an eloquent way to refute taking nostalgia to its detrimental end: “It can be like this forever,” which is a concept I’ve been frustrated with, with long-gone friends.
Wow! This is really good. I like the way you wrapped everything up together so well.
@Chien: Bienvenido a mi blog y gracias por tu comentario. Q bueno q te guste!
@Josue: Gracias, bombon. Espero q vos tbn disfrutes de las lluvias.
@Oscar: Haha, yeah, the title took me awhile, but was just what I wanted.
@estarla: My pleasure! I, too, have trouble stopping to smell the proverbial roses because city life can be so hectic.
@Greg: Well thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I had fun writing it!
Heeeya!!!
Well, in CR there are no such seasons, that’s what I’ve always believed. Especially in some provinces, where it can be cloudy in the morning, extremely hot and sunny at noon, and freezing once more about 4 o’clock.
Sorry I couldn’t read it properly, but it’s 3 o’clock in the mornign, and I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately… See ya!!!
Hey UAS, welcome to gringuitica!
By USA standards, Costa Rica doesn’t really have a summer or winter, but every tico I know calls the rainy season “winter” and the dry season “summer.” I actually got [jokingly] laughed at for referring to it as la temporada verde because that’s a tourism term, not a tico term. Also, as you said, this varies by province. I live in San José, where there is a distinct difference between the summer & winter.
Anyway, that’s how I’ve come to understand it.
hey girl. i can’t believe our time together is coming to a close. you know that i’m coming back and that you’re coming to canada to visit, entonces no te preocupas mucho.
With college coming to a close and the real world knocking at my door, your post really hit home. It perfectly described the beauty that is change in life and how somehow, we are always ready for it. Thanks for the insight er!