Tonight was the first night of the year that the temperature didn’t keep us bundled below for dinner. It was cool out (55°F), but Neil conceded to my request to eat in the cockpit, even though he was cold (another win for my “please-please-please-eager-face” – thank you, my husband).

Enjoying dinner in the cockpit is wonderfully symbolic. It represents the return of longer days and warmer weather, which means more hours to chase adventure. It means that evening sails after work are on the horizon and that seals will soon be found lounging on the docks. It signifies that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom and that baby animals are beginning their lives in the trees and the fields and the seas. The Pacific Northwest is beginning to awake from winter.

After dinner, wrapped in a fleece blanket and accompanied by a glass of white wine, I made my way to the bow. I settled into the footstep just in front of the mast, a perfect little squat to watch the blue sky fade to a watercolor pink and purple sunset. A crescent moon hung between the masts of two sailboats on the dock to our west, and a flock of birds soared across the sky. I could not resist the urge to let the beauty of the evening consume me.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not delusional to expect every night from now until September to be so blissful. In fact, four of the next five days call for rain…but this is a start, and I’ll take it! Spring has arrived.