It’s Easter.
In Melbourne Easter traditionally marks the final end of summer regardless of what the weather is like. Sometimes we will get a warm Easter and sometimes it will be quite wintery. This Easter has been more wintery than warm. I started out with a long sleeved shirt on Good Friday but by early afternoon I had changed into shorts and a t-shirt. Then came the change. The temperature dropped many degrees and we had a heavy rain storm. Hard to imagine two more different weather conditions in one day.
Three weeks ago, we were walking along the banks of the Yarra River just before 8pm waiting for the Closing Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games to begin. We were wearing t-shirts and shorts and it was quite warm – almost hot for that time of day. A few days later the maximum temperature was about 13 and we all had overcoats on.
Winter came quickly this years. I love winter, but I hate its coming. Summer represents holidays and slowing down a bit. Everyone is a bit more relaxed about deadlines. I relax more. I love going to the beach. I love swimming and I love the spectacle of it with other people swimming, sunbaking, surfing, playing on the beach and yachting.
I’m always a bit sad when summer ends. It means all that is put away for another year and while business gets busy again, the world around slows down a little. In a way it marks the end of another year. I guess you could say the end of any season marks the end of a year, but for me as winter ends, there is the excitement of summer around the corner and summer holidays.
Winter seems more a time of solitude. After winter has set in I love it. I love sitting by an open fire when it is cold and pouring with rain outside. I love going for a brisk walk in the cold air. It’s nice that those oppressive hot nights have gone again for a while.
When winter comes, I’m never ready for the change from out summer sport – Cricket to our winter sport – Aussie Rules Football. As the football season progresses, I get really involved in it and often listen to or watch the my team’s games. I even watch other games just because they’re on. But at the start of the season, it takes me a while to get into it.
But underneath it all, I think for me, the coming of winter marks the marching of time. It means I am getting older. Also as I run my own business, it means I have to get serious about all those goals I set at the start of the year. It always takes time for things to happen but by the time winter comes, it’s a real test of whether they will or not. So I am getting older and have to question whether I am moving towards my life goals.
So by mid winter I am loving it. At the change of seasons, I have a lot to think about.