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Spring Awakening – The New York Times

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Today is the first full day of spring. Can you feel it? In the Northeast, it was mostly cold and rainy this week, and one could only repeat “In like a lion, out like a lamb” and check the weather apps again. We’re technically in Spring of Deception, according to a meme that posits 12 actual seasons, based on experience rather than science. (Next up is Third Winter, followed by The Pollening.)

Even so, once the equinox passes, the good weather bias begins. We increasingly expect warmer days, note the early perennials sending up their shoots in flower beds still pocked with snow. We underdress optimistically when the temperature grazes heights not seen since fall.

I’m too eager, a spring-summer dogmatist wishing it Memorial Day so fervently I overlook the grass greening. I miss commuters’ coffee cups transitioning from hot to iced, the gradual unbuttoning and disappearance of coats. My friend Austin remarked that the seasons are one of the few things left we can’t change on demand — they take as long as they take and there’s no app or hack to speed their progress. He meant this as a good thing.

And he’s right, of course. These early technically spring days, with their absurd cold gusts and flashes of pale sun, are still days. They still contain 24 hours to inhabit, even if I wish I were inhabiting them in shorts. Anticipation is tricky: It feels exciting to look forward to something, but often that looking forward results in overlooking what’s right here. Right here, just on the other side of the equinox, daylight now exceeds dark in the Northern Hemisphere. Each day, sunset is a little bit later.

“What is all this juice and all this joy?” Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote in his poem “Spring.” Indeed, what is it? What’s with the dampness of sidewalks, the smell of the thawing earth? Are there more birds singing or am I just waking up to them? They’re the tiny increments of spring arriving. The equinox is a planetary demarcation, but real-life spring arrives gradually, a halting, nonlinear progression. Residue of winter, hints of future summer, doubling back before settling into itself, a season getting its footing, finally, eventually, again.

Last week I wrote about The Good List, my new newsletter that offers ways to add some joy to your days. The first installment went out this week, and I’ve loved hearing from readers about how they cultivate delight in their own lives.

Jill Wiggins of Kerrville, Texas, wrote:

I am an 80-year-old widow who lives in the Texas Hill Country. In the past 10 years I have raised a grandchild (who is now on her own), cared for a husband who died of Parkinson’s, moved twice, had two major surgeries, plus of course the pandemic and the Big Texas Freeze of ’21.

When I take the dog for a walk on the beautiful Guadalupe River, I try to find at least five beautiful things. It can be birdsong, a cloud, the river itself, a flower, an egret, or even just my beautiful blue heeler. Once you start noticing, it’s easy to keep going and find way more than five, even on a not-so-pretty day.

Want more good things? Sign up!

War in Iran

Spring has finally sprung, at least officially, and this braised chard with gnocchi, peas and leeks shows off the fresh, sweet flavors of the season. Filled with tender vegetables and plush gnocchi, it’s a meatless one-pot meal that’s versatile: You can substitute red onions for the leeks, pasta for the gnocchi and any leafy greens for the chard. The buttery, tangy sauce makes it all sing.

The Hunt: Two dads, and their four kids, looked for a pied-à-terre in Manhattan for long weekends and city adventures. What did they find? Play our game.

What you get if you want to live in a church: A turn-of-the-century church turned artist’s loft in Pennsylvania, a formerly abandoned church from the 1870s in Illinois and a Lutheran church from 1902 with a new addition in Georgia.

C’est la vie: After her marriage ended, an entrepreneur traded a California cattle ranch for 400 square feet in Paris.

When in Spain: From globally adored sports teams to world-class museums, Madrid has something for everyone. Our guide shows the best of this art-dense, culinarily rich and friendly city.

Fashion farewells: Movie directors don’t usually appear at the end of their films. But during fashion week, designers take bows on the runway. The process can be revealing.

D.I.Y. framing: Resizing a wood frame for your favorite artwork is also a great way to practice skills that will come in handy for many other jobs.

Many skin care products promise miracles. Retinoids are among the few with the science to back them up. At prescription strengths, these vitamin A derivatives have been shown to speed up skin’s cellular turnover, boost collagen and minimize the appearance of pores and the production of oils. Milder over-the-counter versions — we’ve tested nearly 40 — deliver similar benefits. These seven effective retinol products, which suit a range of budgets and skin types, include a serum gentle enough for sensitive skin and a moisturizing multitasker. Whichever you choose, start slowly: Apply the product no more than twice a week, and use small drops, about the size of a pea. Your skin will thank you, today and tomorrow. —Rory Evans

No. 12 seed High Point vs. No. 4 seed Arkansas, men’s N.C.A.A. Tournament. This year’s March Madness has been fun, but it’s also been top-heavy. In the men’s bracket, no team seeded 13 or higher won in the first round. And on Day 1 of the women’s tournament, there were no upsets at all.

That means High Point is the best hope for a Cinderella. Luckily, they’re also fun to watch, thanks to one of the quirkiest players in the tournament, Chase Johnston. To call Johnston a 3-point specialist would be an understatement: He had not made a 2-pointer this season until, with 11 seconds to go in the first round, he hit a layup to take the lead over Wisconsin. (See the highlight.)

To keep the dream alive, High Point will need to get past an Arkansas team, led by the longtime Kentucky coach John Calipari, that is the best in the country at limiting turnovers. The Athletic’s statistical model says there’s a 1 in 3 chance of an upset. Stranger things have happened. Tonight at 9:45 p.m. Eastern on TBS



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