Spring Again

Ahhh, it's that wonderful time of the year where the weather breaks, the days get longer and the skirts get shorter. Yes people, it is spring. The jackets get thinner (if needed at all) and the moods are lighter. People want to be out and about more and more. I love this time of year in the Northeast. It's really difficult to appreciate if you live in a region where the weather doesn't drastically change from season to season. Just a few short weeks ago, we were all in our big coats hoping that too much snow didn't come down on us, or hoping that the rain didn't freeze. It was a pretty mild winter which makes it seem that we are in the clear to start packing the heavy sweaters away and break out the short sleeves! The beginning of spring brings forward a holiday that knows no religious, racial or cultural bounds. We've all celebrated it, even if we did not have a name for it. Any of you that went to a college or university where you stayed on campus ABSOLUTELY celebrated. The name of this holiday: Ground Honies Day!

Yes people, it is that lovely time of year when the beautiful objects of our affection shed the layers that had them hidden all winter and show us what they are working with now. Hell, they don't even have to be objects of our affection; they can be outright eye candy. Ground Honies Day is that first magical day where the weather is warm, the city (or where ever your locale happens to be) is abuzz and everyone is out and about trying to see and be seen. At colleges and universities, this is the day where even the most studious of students are unable to make it to class. They can be found at the Student Center, or outside of the cafeteria, or where ever students congregate. In the professional world, this is the first of many days where it becomes imperative to take a 2 (or 3) hour lunch. Many will come down with an attack of allergies or other illness that prevents their attendance at work, but not on 8th street where women are stepping up their shoe game!

Why call this Ground Honies Day? Because like that day when some people get allexcited about a groundhog potentially seeing his shadow in an effort to predict the coming season, on Ground Honies Day, Honies (male and female depending on your own personal preference) come up from the underground caves in which they have been hiding all winter* and we all get a glimpse of what summer will be like in our respective locales. Because retail outlets are so eager to get more of our money, they stock the stores with spring/summer clothing while there is still a good amount of winter to go. This is not a bad thing. Peep game: many of us (that still have disposable income) jump on these spring fashions EXPIDITIOUSLY, whether we want to be the first ones with the newest latest, or if we genuinely see something that we like and do not want to go to the store when it is warm only to be upset that the object ofour desire is not available. Having these items in the closet builds the anticipation to actually get a chance to floss it. But wait, it has another great effect: many of us will buy these items a size ortwo smaller than what we need. Why, because it will give us further incentive to use that gym membership that we've been paying for but not using. In the absence of a gym membership there are yoga or Pilates DVDs (don't actlike you don't know what I'm talking about, the weight loss industry is not a multi-billion dollar industry for no reason at all). Some of us will do whatever it takes to get into these lovely spring wears. 3 hours a day at the gym, no problem! Yogurt for breakfast, done! 5 times per week even!! Diet grits while at IHOP, bring 'em on. Remember, there are NEW clothes in the closet that need to be seen at any cost!!!

The anticipation for Ground Honies day further builds, because like Easter, we really don't know when it will come from year to year. Sure we have calendars that tell us when the first day of spring is, but it has become increasingly rare in the recent past to be able to anticipate spring starting on the day it should. If my memory serves me correctly, the first day of spring has been absurdly cold for the last few years, so one pretty much has to be prepared from the end of March to potentially mid May. It's like Soccer. Because only the officials know how much time remains, the players play as hard as they can until they hear the final whistle. There is no time for stall tactics or slow down strategies. It is imperaive that all players stay on the attack while on offense, trying to score as many goals as possible, while defenders must do whatever it takes to get the ball out of the attack zone. Ground Honies Day operates the same way. No one can pinpoint for sure when the weather will break or stay mild for sure, so it's at best difficult to plan.


The only thing we can do is be ready.



The time is coming, are you ready?


*Hiding in caves is subjective, some have been boo'd up and are yearing to break free. This coincides with another spring holiday. That is National Tell Your (Wo)Man That You Need Space Day. This is a whole other topic slated for later discussion.