March 1. First Day of Meteorological Spring. Is that just a gimmick for TV meteorologists? Something to give them another way to fill up air time? Perhaps, but hasn't March 1 always felt like it should be the first day of spring and hasn't March 20 or 21 always felt like an arbitrary date?

The first day of spring is the first day you have hope that the snow will actually melt sometime soon. It is the day you can drive somewhere with the confidence that the roads will be dry and summerlike and that you can be pretty confident they will be in the same condition for the trip home. It is the day that you see the first snow shrink back away from tree trunks and building foundations and you see green grass peeking out below. It is the day that you see the shrubs you planted last fall poking up through the icy snow crust. It is the first time your dog comes in with muddy feet rather than snowy feet (okay--this isn't such a desirable thing, but it's still a sign of spring...) It's the day you notice some yellow on the finches at your feeder. The day you see the leaves perk up on your rhododendrons. The day you notice buds on azaleas and lilacs, though they've been there all winter. The first day of spring comes when you feel the energy that springs from more sun, when you notice that there is still some daylight after you come home from work at night, or after dinner, and you just want to get out and go for a walk or do something outdoors because you want to seize that daylight--as if it might be taken away from you again. It is the day you go wild and unzip your coat.

The first day of spring is the day you get the gut-sensation that new life is not only possible, but is a force beyond your control and you realize it's fun to be out of control. It is a sense that you are part of something larger than you are--yet you are happy to be stirred into the brew. The first day of spring feels like the first day of happiness, like the last day of unhappiness--though you were probably quite happy in winter, too, at times. Just not all the time. Like at the end.

Even if the First Day of Meteorological Spring is a gimmick, bring it on. Just the thought of it warms the air time I am filling by chipping away ice in By-the-Calendar winter.