BEAUTIFUL NEW DAY.

• Author: Kinney, Ben
• Position: UPFRONT

We are really in the throes of spring, as I write this. When I was younger, I wasn't a big fan of the season. I dreaded the fine sheen of pollen that covered my car and created what looked like an alien loogie on my windshield when it mixed with the morning dew. I'd clear it away with my wipers, cursing as my eyes watered up in preparation for a major sneeze that was inevitably followed up by five or six more. The grand finale was a runny nose on the way to work each spring morning. Seriously, that's how I used to think about spring: a nuisance.

I've changed my tune. I don't know if I look at things differently as I get older or perhaps I became more aware of my immediate surroundings during the pandemic, but 1 like spring. My backyard is looking really nice with new grass, baby birds singing and host as popping up all over.

Spring is about rebirth, life and well ... hope. I used to be a big fall fan and I still am, but frankly, it's not a hopeful time. It's more about harvest, stocking up and preparing for winter (aka death). In spring, it's more about looking forward to the next phase rather than dreading it.

I was thinking all this as our family gathered together on our back porch to watch the final...