ANDRE BEGIN

Is it just me or is spring getting shorter with each passing year? Technically, the definition of spring hasn’t really changed, but from a climate and weather perspective, the season doesn’t seem to be what it used to be.

Spring in childhood

In my younger years, the spring jacket was the topic of many discussions with my mother, notably of the variety that involved me trying to make a clean getaway through the back door to go play but instead having to U-turn my way back in to grab a jacket at Mom’s insistence. A light spring jacket was a necessity for navigating crisp mornings and cool evenings.

I remember those fun months of April and May, when the light jacket became increasingly optional as the sun cast its warm glow. Some days, we carried it on an arm, other days we tied the arms of the jacket around our waists or if we couldn’t be bothered, we just put the hood on with the jacket hanging down our backs. It’s a good thing the fashion police didn’t exist back then.

Spring meant cool and comfortable temperatures with the eager anticipation of summer holidays that were just around the corner.

Spring during the career years

Later in life, spring was synonymous with the layered look of dress pants, dress shirt, sometimes a nice sweater, topped with a jacket. With a few light jackets in rotation, I felt well put together, stylish and even “cool” (or as “cool” as I will ever get) without trying too hard.

This was my signature look, which I enjoyed through the gradual transition from cooler temperatures to warmer ones. With this uniform, I was ready for pretty much anything in outdoor weather whether for date night, hanging out with friends, quick walks around the block for some fresh air between meetings, or for keeping warm when a bus was running late.

Today’s version of spring

More recently, the jackets have been spending more time hanging around in the closet than they have in protecting me from the elements. Now, it seems that I spend more time dusting the jackets from lack of use more than anything else. They are turning into the Maytag repair people of my wardrobe.

There are days that I swear I can hear them calling to me from the front hall closet, reminding me that they are feeling neglected and are ready to come out and play.

In theory, shouldn’t we expect a slow and gradual increase in temperatures as we move from winter to spring to summer? If that is the case, then why is it that we seem to sprint from parkas to t-shirts and shorts over the span of two or three weeks? Or worse yet, to jump back and forth between the extremes of winter and summer conditions over the span of a few days, to the deep confusion of our flora and fauna.

What happened to coat season? What happened to spring layering season?

In recent years, even if there are early signs of spring in March, the hope for a short winter vanishes in April with out-of-the-blue snowstorms and cold spells that drag us back into our winter cocoons of binge watching through our fortresses of pillows and blankets.

And then when Mother Nature finally makes the decision to stick around and that spring is finally here, we are quickly plunged into sweltering heat and humidity… and then we retreat back to the air-conditioned comfort of our homes and cocoons of binge watching until it is comfortable enough to go outside again.

When I think back to my childhood and teen years, I only remember a handful of days when it was just too hot to go out. Now it’s a few days each year, and this is from the partner who is more prone to getting cold and bundling up, even in room temperatures considered “normal” by most peoples’ standards.

I’m no climatologist, but in layperson’s terms, this is just plain weird. These aren’t the springs I remember from childhood.

Do we need to rethink spring jackets?

I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to my spring jackets but this trend toward warmer weather has been enough for me to whittle down the coat collection to my most favourites and donating the rest, hoping someone else might be able to make good use of the castoffs.

In keeping things in perspective, the diminishing need for spring jackets is not a catastrophe on the same scale as wildfires, floods and rising ocean temperatures. It’s just that we miss each other and would still like to go out and play more often.

Did you enjoy this post? If you did, your likes and shares are most appreciated.
If you haven’t already, please check out the rest of my blog at andrebegin.blog. From there, you can click on the “Follow” button to receive future posts directly in your inbox.
Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André