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We made maple syrup again this year, later than last year because of this interminable winter. At the end of two days we had produced nearly two pints of a gloriously silky dark amber fluid that we sipped devoutly from a spoon like a precious elixir. Both the process and the product made me think - as do so many things - of love.
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April prepares her green traffic light
and the world thinks Go.
~ Christopher Morley
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Like really good maple syrup, really good love is neither fast nor easy. Creating it takes initiative, courage, tenacity, dedication, focus, energy, and attention. But the resemblance stops there. Once made, maple syrup is there in all its glory; all we need to do is put it to good use: pour it onto our pancakes, spoon it into that pot of baking beans, or lavish it, heated, over a scoop of ice cream.
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Science has never drummed up quite as effective
a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day.
~ W. Earl Hall
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Love, on the other hand, requires us to do more. To harvest its full flavor, we need to nurture it every day. The reward for our vigilance and care is an abundant supply of the sweetness of life itself. The benefit is that, treated this way, love constantly replenishes itself. That's only one of love's advantages over maple syrup: When that glass bottle is empty, that's the end of it.
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The first day of spring is one thing,
and the first spring day is another.
The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.
~ Henry Van Dyke
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In celebration of the first days of spring, I wish you all the love and maple syrup your heart may crave.
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