Anyone who has lived in (or been to) the northern part of the northern hemisphere in the spring knows that it can get dirty outside.  I’m not talking about cute dirty, where patches of crocuses or tulips pop up out of delicate mud puddles (although we do have that).  No, I’m talking about ugly dirty.  Like the ugly cry you exhibit during that devastating part in the move that catches you off guard every time; even when you have seen the movie dozens of times and you know the asteroid is heading directly for earth.  Spring in the deep north is like that.  All of the dirt and debris that has been caught in various layers of snow over the past four to six months is now exposed and laying bare.  The ground is brown and scraggly, the trees are bare and rickety, and there is garbage everywhere.  It’s not because people in the north are particularly dirty people, because I can assure you we are not.  I blame it on the snow.  The pristine white blankets of snow that fall in the winter cover up the garbage; one delicate layer at a time.  After a snowfall you can no longer see the empty chip bags, or fast-food coupons, etc, that have been blown out of garbage cans by the wind that preceded the snow.   But spring (oh, glorious spring) lays it all bare. 

Today was one of those particularly dirty spring days.  While walking this morning through an area of my neighborhood with new construction, I found myself on a street that was dirtier than the rest.  Not only did construction debris and random garbage litter the ground, it was also caught in chain link fences, and imbedded in deep muddy grooves.  Just as I was muttering to myself about how ugly spring could be, something white and fluffy caught my eye.  Tangled in a clump of spindly grass was a piece of fluffy white insulation in the shape of a heart.

The heart shaped insulation could have been easy to miss.  I am honestly surprised that I noticed it at all, that I didn’t just walk right past.  But, for whatever reason, I did see it.  And, in noticing the heart shaped piece of insulation, I also noticed something about my life.

Just as there are seasons to the weather, there are seasons in life.  Some seasons are filled with sunshine and sandy beaches, and picnics on summer days.  Other seasons are filled with muck and garbage.  Today I was literally in a muck and garbage type of day in my life.  I felt heavy with the pressure of living along and pretending to be a competent adult.  I felt like the cold, desolate winter season of my life had gone on for way too long.  But then I saw a delicate reminder that there is joy to be found even in the dirtiest of days. 

Hart shaped garbage is elusive.  It can be tricky to see.  It sometimes hides in unexpected places.  Joy in the middle of our messy lives can be the same.  It is incredibly cliché to say we need to look for the things that bring joy to the dirty days, but , it’s vitally important that we do.  It is almost as if our life and our sanity depend on it.  For me, it is those moments of heart shaped garbage that get me through the day.  One smile at a time, each moment of lightheartedness reminds me that the season of summer is just around the corner.