New Things Sprouting Up

It’s January and daffodils are sprouting on campus. Did I say it’s January?

Last week, I was walking across the Dell and noticed a small patch of daffodils popping up through the mulch near Drysdale. 

I did a double take. A couple of weeks previously, it was so cold that pipes were freezing across the  city and now daffodils are sprouting? 

Sure, it’s been warm here. It might be relatively normal. Yet, growing up in Chicago and spending many years in New England, I see this as a miraculous sight. Flowers don’t usually sprout until May in my old neighborhoods, mainly because snow could be on the ground until May. 

It gave me some hope (yes, perhaps some false hope) that spring is nearer than I thought. It gave me hope that new things would be springing up all around me. And, it made me look forward to the beauty of the Dell in the middle of spring. 

I also think it’s a timely sight. It’s a new semester, a new year, and new things are sprouting up. 

I was speaking with some new students on campus recently about their excitement for the semester. One New Hornet said just walking on campus, they knew this was the place for them. Another shared their excitement about getting involved in a handful of clubs and organizations.

I’m also excited for the new things sprouting up in our office. We have partnered with the Church of the Covenant to provide an inclusive and safe Sunday morning worship gathering for students, faculty, and staff and the local community. We will be bringing in the first Hindu priest and chaplain at Georgetown University to give a lecture about religious diversity and spirituality on college campuses. Our 14 spiritual life groups are eager to start meeting again and collaborate with other offices for different events that are being planned. 

I hope we all take moments to look around and see what is springing up around us. It might just turn out to be something beautiful.