Reflections on Our Spring and Loyalty

The other day, my wife and I looked out a window from our rural home and were pleased to see a doe white-tailed deer and her tiny fawn in the field below us. It seems late this year, but this was our first sighting of a charmingly speckled fawn, and its strict and watchful, momma.
 
Deer are a mixed blessing in this part of Southern New Brunswick. There are so many of them that they have come to be viewed as pests. Some unwise folks in the area feed the deer and this gives rise to many issues. Yet, it is still touching to see the first fawn of spring.

Recently, I was dropping off some student artwork at Lawrence Station elementary school in Charlotte County. No sooner had I arrived at the back door of the school, when about 25 small kids burst out the door, running to the playground to claim the best spot on the swing set and slide.  This was another great spring event. The young teacher explained proudly that she has kindergarten, and grades one and two students in her combined class.

This writer advised the teacher that, back in the day, I had had 40+ students in one of my elementary school classes. At that point, I was undoubtedly no less rambunctious than these local kids. Thank goodness small rural schools like Lawrence Station are still open and moving forward with good teachers and strong community support.

Jumping to another right of spring, I find myself as many others do, steeped in loyalty to a sports team. The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers are fighting hard to come back in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Many had high hopes for the Oilers coming into the Final series, as a Canadian team has not won The Cup since 1993. That’s 31 years. The Oilers roared back Saturday night to win big against the Florida Panthers, who now lead the series 3-1.

For the NHL team I am still the most loyal to, the Toronto Maple Leafs, it has been 57 years since they won The Cup. I remain loyal to them despite being the butt of many springtime jokes.

When one puts one’s heart or loyalty on the line, one makes oneself vulnerable, should things not turn out as hoped. The point is the act of expressing one’s loyalty is very human. It is a yearning to be on the “right” side, not being rewarded with money or material goods, but reaching out to individuals or the community in a common purpose.

It would always be easier to keep one’s powder dry, as the saying goes, or, to put it another way, resist wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve.

This phenomenon is not exclusive to Canadians. Witness the Scottish soccer fan who has just walked 500 miles (1000 return) to support his team in a match against a club in Germany. The song sung by that heartfelt singing group, The Proclaimers, expresses this sentiment. Their rendition is not necessarily about soccer, the lyrics speak of a man who walks “home to you” and “falls down at your door.”

This is where loyalty in sports blends with all of life.

After several months of dry weather which conjured up memories of past wildfires and other signs of climate change, a few rains lately have reawakened us to the wonderful “greenness” of spring. A drive in the countryside shows off the newly green fields and, at long last, the fully-leafed-out, deciduous trees.

At this point we see in the hills, the light green of the deciduous trees--the birches, poplars, or maples, and then, the dark green of the conifers -- the spruces, the pines, or the hemlock.
On this Father’s Day, allow me to quote my late father, a fiction writer who wrote about this season as follows: “The leaf on the birch is a mouse’s ear. And spring is here.”