This past winter in Washington, DC was a season of closures. Schools, businesses, government offices, and public transportation all shut down for several days amid a series of snowstorms. Even after the last pile of snow disappeared, the area’s ageing metro transit system has had to undergo repeated closures for trackwork repairs and assessments.

For me the season was a blessed time for going nowhere. Snowed in and stranded, I took to my own repairs and assessments. I wrote, I waited, I wrote more. Somehow we transitioned from winter weather to cherry blossoms within a week; now a chill is back in the air, but I see spring’s sure touches in the buds and shoots of grass and churned earth ready for planting.

Time to spring forward, renew, breathe — and update this site after a long winter of stagnancy. I am pleased to share that an essay of mine, “How We Breathe,” is featured now on Brain, Child. This is a piece close to my heart, exploring the first year of our daughter’s life when we counted our breaths through a worrisome and difficult time. It’s so good to know we’ve made it beyond that season, and I hope this account will give solace to others going through similar challenges.

I’m looking forward to a spring of opening and exploration, and have some news to share in a later post. What do you hope spring brings your way? May it be a season of growth, renewal, a reminder to breathe and rediscover the beauty around us.