Feelin' It

I know everybody probably enjoys the two coming seasons of spring and summer in different ways, but are there any markers for you that signal their arrival?

There are two spring events each year that give me this signal and create great feelings of excitement: the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, GA. Juxtaposed with my other interests, most of which surround the world of the arts, this seems pretty contrary. But, I did grow up playing several different sports (softball, basketball, soccer, etc.), so I guess those things entered my brain as a thread of interests just as literature and music did.

I think more than anything else, these two sports events are indicators that another spring and summer are about to bloom. This makes me a very happy person in and of itself. But, I also enjoy close athletic competition, which is why I don't bother with the regular season games when it comes to college hoops--at least for the most part, but I did watch a few more before graduate school consumed all of my free time. I enjoy the Superbowl, too, but there's a very different feeling when these two particular events roll around. Overall, I love watching athletes compete in situations where passions are at their highest, and I love this atmosphere of excitement set against the dawning of a new year for nature. Weird combination, I know, but I think they complement one another.

Part of the reason these tournaments tend to bring feelings of familiarity is, at least with the Masters Tournament, I clearly remember my family gathering in the living room year-to-year after dinner, watching its close. I guess some years it was because of where Easter fell on the calendar...other years, especially when the weather has broken, we usually start cooking out. All of these things would fall under my favorite things.