In school, we’re taught that an object in motion stays in motion, and an object at rest stays at rest. It’s physics, and as a dancer I really took that message to heart. For as long as I can remember, I’ve thrown myself into every activity, role, and opportunity life had to offer. I’ve taken life by storm and never so much as considered slowing down, let alone stopping. 

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Fast forward to about two weeks ago. I left dance class with searing pain in my knee, but instead of stopping during the session to sit out and observe, I pushed through anyway. With ice & rest, the swelling went down a bit, so I kept dancing on it despite the pain. Afterall, I’d been taught that pain is progress in my strict ballet training and that if I stopped to address it, opportunities would pass me by. I feared that a momentary pause would overstay its welcome, so I just kept dancing… 

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My MRI results came back yesterday. I’ve torn my meniscus and will require surgery. The art that I love so much will be put on pause while I heal, and after surgery who knows if things will ever go back to feeling normal.

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I always feel that this time of year is such a drag. Not because of the cold, rainy weather itself, but because spring is just out of reach. I welcomed the Vernal Equinox last week and the time change that gave us longer days, but today’s dreary weather reminded me that spring still hasn’t come into bloom just yet. But, this time of year does hold something very special to me: spring ephemerals. Spring ephemerals are flowers that are visible for only a short time each spring before they disappear. These include daffodils, crocuses, tulips, and hyacinths, among others that are only around in the earliest part of spring. These plants are beautiful & fleeting, and they always remind me that there is hope for spring in full bloom coming very soon. There is something growing, emerging even in the midst of dormancy; there is something to get me through.

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Something in me welcomes this period of rest, as if my subconscious knows that there will be growth even amidst my dormancy. Maybe, just maybe, if I look really close, there may even be some spring ephemerals in bloom.