by Merrie Root

Created on: May 08, 2009

The gray of winter fades and makes way for a brighter season. A season known as spring, the season of new beginnings, nurturing and hope. In the spring farmers plant and nurture their seeds in hopes of an abundant, healthy crop. Leaves begin covering the trees that were bare all winter. Flowers that were dormant begin to bloom. Nature comes alive with the sounds, scents and beautiful sights.

Babies and small children are in the spring time of their life cycle. Babies are like the dormant flowers. With care they begin to bloom. They come alive with the sounds of their first words and laughter; the scents of baby shampoo, lotion and even dirty diapers; the sights of their first tooth and first steps. Small children are much like the seeds planted by farmers. With constant nurturing, parents plant the seeds of love, compassion, manners, responsibility, confidence and life lessons. Hoping they've planted and nurtured the right amount of each to ensure a happy, successful life for their child.

Teenagers and young adults are in the summer of their lives. The teenage years are a time of sunny days and enormous fun. They are not yet saddled with the responsibility of being an adult. They are on summer vacation and enjoying life. Eventually, however, their vacation comes to an end and they face life as young adults. While they're still enjoying many fun days at the beach,vacation is over and they now have obligations. The mid days of summer are not as carefree but, they become a balance of fun, work and responsibilities. Like the seeds planted in spring, young adults can now begin to taste the fruit of their labors. The end of the summer cycle begins as young adults prepare for the coming autumn and winter. This is the time they make hay while the sun shines. They are aware that their lives will soon enter a new season and this is when they work the hardest to ensure that they're prepared for the coming seasons of their lives.

The autumn years are the years of change and slowing down . Just like the leaves that are changing colors, life is changing too. As the farmers harvest their crops in autumn, we harvest our earnings and get ready for what we hope will be a long winter. The kids have left home and life moves at a slower pace. We can now sit back, relax and take life as it comes.

Winter slips in and at first we enjoy it. Doing what we want when we want. With nowhere we have to be, like bears, we hibernate. Then like falling on an icy sidewalk, our health begins to fall. Soon the temperatures cause pipes to freeze and like the pipes we are frozen in our old bodies. While younger people wait on warmer days, we wait on our days to end. That is the cycle of life in seasons and like the seasons, life is ever changing.

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