Waiting for the Smell in the Air

I don't usually write "personal" blog postings... but this one verges on that I guess. I recently saw my first spring training baseball game on TV, and of course that was a great feeling. Then a few days ago the temperatures here in the Rochester, New York area rose into the 50s and even low 60s I think. I was able to go for an outdoor jog (just 3.5 miles) on one of those days, which was great, because I really need the exercise. And we actually had ample rain in recent days too.

But then last night winter weather returned, and this morning we have a good 5+ inches of fluffy snow and the temps are again well below freezing. So my spring joy is being delayed.

In particular, I am still waiting for that "ah, its wonderful" emotional moment (or series of moments) that I experience each spring. I grew up in this area, and I very much appreciate its change of seasons each year. Every spring as a child and adolescent I played baseball on a team (little league through varsity high-school) -- I was mostly a pitcher. Practices would start in early March (or even late February, albeit indoors). There was a certain smell in the air that I'd experience every year at that time. It was a combination of many things: the smell of spring rains, warmer air temperature, the smell of the dirt of the ballfield, the smell of the leather of baseball glove, the smell of fresh-cut (or at least revived and growing) green grass, and even the faint scents from flowers blooming or the leaves first coming out.

For me, it is what I get from my sense of smell during this time -- even more than the sense of touch of the warmer temperatures, or the sense of sight of the sun and grass -- that most triggers positive emotions of the season. And for me, it is very much tied up with baseball, and not just the weather as such. To a lesser extent I have a similar reaction, at some point in September, as the fall season starts to settle in: thoughts of something new (based on school starting for so many years), the start of the football season (I didn't play on a team, but we played lots of pickup games and of course I watched lots of pro and college football on TV as a kid). But given that the weather then is turning colder, not warmer, and that the changes in vegetation signal death (or at best hibernation) rather than renewed life, it just isn't the same for me as the birth of the spring season is. Plus as a kid baseball starting was far more important to me than football season or school starting!

Alas, those moments will be delayed a while longer this year... as I stare out my window at the falling snow.