4 o’clock sunshine pours through my kitchen windows.

Winter. It has been long, and dark, and cold. I feel it. Deep inside. The dark evenings and bone-chilling wind have left their mark on me, body and soul. Like many others, I am winter weary and tired.

But there are fewer things that whisper hope to me the way these early March days do. The tulip buds, sing-song birds, and golden evenings scattered between the cold days.. all reminders of a long forgotten promise.

Winter does end.

Soup steams on the stovetop, vegetable cuts scattered on the kitchen floor. My baby naps independently down the hall, a rare and blessed occurrence. A group of kids ride their bicycles down the street, still in winter hats and jackets. And that sweet sunshine falls across the kitchen floor, warming my woolen socked feet in the process. The birds outside remind me— winter is thawing.

And brighter days, they are coming.