Spring of Deception

The sun was pouring through the cracks in my blinds as the view of my entire room came into focus. I could hear the birds for the first time in a long time singing their morning songs back and forth to one another. It was the start of my most relaxing weekend yet as the weather forecast showed sunny and 45. I had made so many plans to get outside and enjoy the sunshine that had been hiding for the past five months. I could almost feel my skin crawling towards the warmth of the morning sun as I revealed my face to the bright blue sky. There were so many activities that I have been dreaming of doing. I could go hiking, rock hunting, sit outside reading a book, really anything besides shoveling snow would be amazing. These were the days that I looked forward to most of all because in reality you never knew how long it would last. But what I can say, that’s what's expected in Traverse City Michigan. 

I’ll let you in a little secret. Us Michiganders, that’s what we call ourselves, we have ways to tell if you’re from out of town. I know some might ask how is that possible? Well I’ll tell you how. There are a few unspoken rules or actions that all Michiganders take that ween out the tourist from the local born.

Number One, no matter how cold 35 degrees sounds you will see us throwing off those coats and boots and trading them in for shorts and sweatshirts. After the crazy five months that we just endured in dealing with 15 degrees and below you best believe we are going to jump at the chance to get rid of all the winter apparel crap. For real, 35 degrees is like a heatwave for us. All you have to do is unfreeze that water and we’ll be ready to jump on in.

Number Two, if the sun is shining and there is nothing falling from the sky there is a 90% chance that we are already driving down the road with our windows down. There is nothing like smelling that fresh air after we have locked it out for so long.

Number Three, if the roads are clear and dry that is your ticket to put the pedal to the metal. (Only figuratively speaking, I don’t want anyone getting in an accident.) There’s nothing like feeling the rush and freedom of actually going the speed limit again after driving Miss Daisy for the last couple months treading lightly on pure ice. 

Now the last piece of advice that I have to give is the most important, so you better listen closely because it might come as a shock to some who aren't familiar with the weather here in Traverse City. I mean it, if you only read one through three you’re going to be very lost and I can’t say I didn’t try to warn you. 

Number four, do NOT and I repeat do not get your hopes up that spring is finally here and winter is over because I’ll be honest, it’s a lie. Traverse City’s weather is definitely fooling you and pulling your leg right about now. That’s why you have to take advantage of the nice weekends like I talked about doing earlier. 

Don’t get me wrong Traverse City is the best place to live. We get the best of both worlds getting to experience all four seasons and hardly getting any natural disasters. This town is beautiful, it has an amazing community and is surrounded by so many bodies of freshwater. Not to mention the famous National Cherry Festival that shuts down half our town each summer. It’s like living in a fantasy world with so many new faces and talent that is brought straight to our town that is almost desolate in the winter. 

You see we have gotten Traverse City weather down to a science, well I think we have a pretty good idea anyway. Right now we just got out of our Second Winter and we are currently in the stage of Spring of Deception. Spring of Deception is where we get a mix of rain and warm days which melts the snow away, thank goodness, and just when we start to get comfortable... BOOM. Guess what comes next, if you guessed Third Winter you are the winner. We get hit with a couple inches of snow yet again. You see after the Third Winter we go through the Pollening Stage, which is my least favorite, so many allergies during this period. Then we have finally reached Actual Spring. I know it’s like we are going in circles here. It drives me mad.

Most of you who are reading this are probably really confused and I agree, I have lived here my whole life and still get confused by the drastic mood swings of Traverse City’s weather. Yes it sounds like a great place to live but the weather will drive you up a wall.

Anyway, reading outside is my favorite thing to do, it’s so calming listening to all the awakening sounds of the creatures coming out of hibernation. The smells of soil, trees, grass, and even just the earth that has been in a state of isolation for so long. As I sit in my chair reading I feel my arms draw in the warmth of the sun as it expands across my body and across the white pages of my books. The black letters almost jump off the page as the intense sunlight brings the white pages to a fluorescent glow. Now this is what I call relaxing. 

A slight breeze picks up and sends a quick shiver down my arms. I see the shadows of some overhead clouds passing by darkening the pages only slightly as they move in front of the sun. As I continue to read I squeeze my eyes shut blinking away what I think is my eyes playing tricks on me. But nevertheless the evidence is there, right in the center of my page is a perfectly formed snowflake that fades into a droplet of water before my eyes.

NO!