As is usual, spring has come round again. No surprise there, of course, but welcome none the less. Now it’s time for the firsts of the season:

• First baseball spring training game
• First time sitting in the sun on the balcony wearing sun glasses and NO WINTER COAT!
• First person out for a walk wearing shorts
• First trill of a cardinal
• First rumble of a Harley

And of course, the opposite is now a countdown:

• Last time wearing winter coats or boots or hats or mitts or gloves
• Last time using the winter tires on the car
• Last time stepping in slush and salt
• Last time slipping on ice
• Last time hearing the scrunch of skates on ice

It’s always the same each year, and yet you look forward to it anyway, and this year even more so since this spring is a 1-year anniversary of COVID-19 lockdowns. We’re all desperate to sit outside at restaurants and order a glass of something, to be able to walk into a store without a mask, to simply wander unconcerned.

Patience. It’s coming, though it might be months yet before we’re fully out the other side.

In baseball, a walk is earned by a batter through patience and discipline. The batter has to simply not do what they want to do, which is swing the bat, but instead watch each pitch carefully and make a decision – swing or not swing. If you can focus and do that, not swing at pitches outside the strike zone, you can earn a walk, get on base, and put yourself in a position to score a run. A batter can’t go up to the plate every time trying to hit home runs – sometimes the best strategy is to wear down the pitcher by being patient, and taking a walk.

That’s where we are with COVID-19. Time to take your walk.