April

I love April. I love the feeling of anticipation, the promise of something more...

At home, in the southern hemisphere, it was just starting to get nippy in the evening and early morning. The sun was rising just a tiny bit later so we'd hear the morning chirps of the heuglins, the louries, the toppies - in our half-waking. The days would still be baking hot and we'd look forward to the cooler evenings. April at home promised holidays, of evenings round the fire in the weeks to come. It promised cooler weather, mists in the morning, the crunch of frost on the grass first thing before the sun hit the lawn.

Now, here, it's the promise of spring, the anticipation of warmer weather just round the corner. The birds are back and making themselves heard. The trees are covered with buds - leaves, blossom. Daffs, blue bells, crocuses seem to appear in the most unlikely of places, .... Everything seems to come alive again. Splashes of colour emerge in no time at all, as if the flowers are afraid of missing the chance to grow in the sunshine.

I know that as we move round, find new countries in which to live and explore, meet new people, find new jobs, new homes, I shall feel unsettled for a while - for I doubt we'll be moving back home.
But perhaps, I shall always have April.