After a Long Winter

Eileen O’Hara

我们在经历漫长而艰难的冬天后会感到迷茫和不知所措，但通过每天朝着目标迈出一小步，学习如何从不同的视角看待生活，发现其中的美，我们就可以找到希望，并创造有意义且充实的生活。

Spring air is different from winter air.Tree branches are serrated with red bud teeth.Later,they grow chartreuse1)fuzz,making pale green2)aurasin the sun.Summer leaves will be dark,but spring leaves let the light through.

The birds are out,sharing their news from bushes to branches.Cats are still3)curledup on fire escapes.They are in no hurry to get up in the cool morning air and they know it will warm up later.They are watching the birds.They can wait.

The air is clear,clean,cool.The smells are tiny smells,little whiffs of green,a ribbon of brown mud,the blue smell of the sky.Midday is mild enough for short sleeves.I eat my lunch outside,sitting on a warm brick wall.The breeze lifts my hair and4)rifflesthe edge of my skirt.I have to squint.Everything tastes better.

Until today I had been too huddled in my winter coat to notice the quiet coming of flowers.Suddenly,5)daffodilssmile in my face,parrot tulips wave their beaky petals,and fragrant white blossoms are pinned to dogwood trees like bows in a young girl’s hair.

The evening is soft.I need my thin jacket.It’s still light out when I walk home from the Metro.I could walk for hours.Like a kid playing street games with her friends,I don’t want to go in.

When I went to work this morning,I left my windows open.Spring came in through the screens while I was gone.It’s as if I had used a big sliver key and rolled back the roof like a lid on a sardine can.The indoors smell like the outdoors.It will be like lying down in the grass to sleep.The sheets are cool.The quilt is warm.The light fades outside my windows.This weekend,I think I’ll wash my car.

1) fuzzn.绒毛

2) auran.气味；气氛

3) curlv.蜷缩；弯曲

4) rifflev.迅速翻动

5) daffodiln.水仙花

春天的空气不同于冬天的空气。春天的树枝上长满了带有锯齿状的红色花芽。然后，它们长出了黄绿色绒叶，在阳光下散发出淡淡的清香。夏天的树叶颜色较深，但春天的树叶能透过阳光。

鸟儿飞出，把它们的消息从灌木丛带向树枝。猫咪仍旧蜷缩在防火梯上，不急着出来走动。早上空气有些清凉，但会慢慢暖和起来，这个猫咪知道。它们在盯着小鸟的一举一动，等候不是问题。

空气清新干净，又凉爽。空气中散发出一些淡淡的气味，有一小阵青绿的味道，有一丝棕色泥土味，还有天空的湛蓝味道。中午暖和得可以穿短袖了。我坐在外面一堵晒暖的砖墙上吃午饭，风吹起了我的发梢，裙摆随风起伏，阳光下我得眯着眼睛，一切食物尝起来都觉得更可口了。

我一直裹在我冬日的大衣里，直到今天我才注意到花儿的悄然绽放。突然，水仙花对着我微笑，鹦鹉郁金香摆动着它们喙状的花瓣，芳香的白色花朵被别在茱萸上，就像一个年轻姑娘头上扎的蝴蝶结。

傍晚的感觉是轻柔的。我需要我那件薄外套。当我从地铁站走回家时，天还很明亮。我能够连续走几小时，像一个和朋友在街上玩游戏的孩子一样，不想回家。

今天早上去上班时，我让窗子开着。我走后，春天通过窗口进来。这就好像我用了一把巨大的银钥匙，像开沙丁鱼罐头的盖子那样把屋顶掀开了似的。屋内闻起来和外面一样，就像躺在草地上睡觉一样，床单是凉的，被子是暖的。窗外的光线逐渐变暗。这个周末，我想我要洗洗我的车子了。