March is here, and we’re almost done with the first quarter of the year! Also, for those of you who didn’t care, yesterday was February 29—a leap year! One of my uncles was born on the 29th, so he celebrated his birthday yesterday. He’s probably still in his teens, though, if you divide his actual age by four!
One of the things I like the most about March is that along with it comes the end of the school year, at least here in the Philippines. Back when I was still studying, I would be counting the days to the end of the month, where I would be free, free to do everything I couldn’t do. When summer hit, I could stay up late, wake up late, and practically use this time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the sunny days with my buddies.
Now, since I practically write for a living, I have the opportunity to do that at any time I wanted. I just don’t, because idle hands are the poor man’s workshop. But I still love the impending arrival of summer, because that usually translates to the beach! I haven’t been to the sea in over a year, something I was strongly reminded of when I was at the Roxas Boulevard area just recently. I could smell the brine from across the boulevard, and I told myself that I was going to find a way to hit the beach sometime between March and June (the summer months where I live).
And the best part about March is that, global warming and La Niña notwithstanding, the weather is finally less rainy. I mean, it’s still uncharacteristically chilly where I am, and Nina and I have been fighting off colds for months. But I can feel the warmth in the air, the laziness in the bugs. I can feel the sun, and the sun makes me very, very happy.
So here’s to the arrival of the summer months, and let’s hope that they do, indeed, stay the summer months. I can do with less rain in my life for a couple of months, I think.