Whether the Weather

                                         Whether the weather be cold.

                                         Whether the weather be hot.

                                         We’ll whether the weather, whatever the weather,

                                         Whether we like it or not.

I’ve been playing hide and seek with Spring for the past six weeks. It was unusually warm in Salzburg during much of my two weeks there in March. Then got cold and rainy in Prague and Berlin and San Francisco when I returned. A touch of sun in the Carmel Valley and then snow in Edmonton and back to a rainy San Francisco.

But the other day, Spring emerged in her full glory and I spent the morning trying to figure out some piano voicings of Gerald Clayton instead of basking in the sun. Well, music has its own weather and when it’s flowing, it’s like running the rapids on a summer’s day or floating down the river ambling along to nowhere in particular.

But today I hoped to knock down the soldiers of e-mail one by one to stop them from invading my to-do list. And now the world outside my window beckons to me, entices me with blue skies and intoxicating fresh air and skin-perfect temperature. The birds are singing and am I just imagining that they’re taunting me and telling me to get the hell out of the house?

If we are to align ourselves wholly with the natural world, we must learn to love and accept all kinds of weather, enjoy the gifts of each season while also coping with its challenges. Hot, cold, windy, rainy, snowy, grey, blue, calm, tempestuous, they’re all our children. But let’s face it—we all have our favorite children (except me, Kerala and Talia— I love you both equally!) and for me, the clichéd perfect day that is neither too hot nor too cold, but just right, doesn’t come along that often. Here it is and here am I typing.

Until now. I’m out the door and e-mails be damned! Bye!