Exit Stage Left

Spring has sprung, bringing with it new beginnings, bright green leaves and amazing blooms, colors so vivid they will stop you in your tracks. I do that now, stop what I’m doing to take a closer look. Stop and smell the roses, so to speak. I wonder what age that starts, the appreciation, the desire to slow down the speed of time which is, suddenly, swirling by at a pace so fast it blurs your surroundings. Winter is a distant memory, and I’m happy to leave it behind, a quick exit to a happier, sunnier time. I looked over my shoulder for a moment at the metal snowman that still stood on the front porch, reminding me that even when you leave things behind you, there’s always something lurking in the shadows just waiting to remind you. “Hey, remember me?” If Spring is a time of new beginnings, it is also a time of endings. I hate endings. I leave people, places and things that I love, only when forced to do so, and I do it kicking and screaming. Sometimes, though, life decides these things are through with you. Maybe it’s a friendship, maybe it’s a job, could be anything, really. I got lost in some big building the other day. After meandering along endless corridors, turning around, taking the wrong elevators and finding myself back where I had begun, I just began to look for a way outside. Any way. I finally came upon one of those big heavy exit doors and I silently cheered. I wondered if some alarm would go off or if I’d exit to some remote place and wander aimlessly around looking for my car forever, possibly getting mugged. I can be a bit dramatic. I pushed the door open and hoped for the best, listening as it slammed shut behind me, locking me forever out. I felt a sense of relief. I’d escaped. Exit signs, in buildings and life, you need to pay attention to them. Maybe scope them out before hand. If all else fails, how can I get out? And, go fast. Don’t linger, don’t look back, just exit. It’s Spring. It’s time for a new start.