The Forty Files

The sun came out, and suddenly I feel human again.

I’ve never really been someone who minds winter. Being from Buffalo, I’m built for it. I usually find comfort in the slower pace, the quiet, the permission to hibernate a little. There’s a kind of joy in that.

But this winter? It was different. It felt long. Heavy. Grueling in a way I couldn’t quite shake. And living in a house under construction only added to it, that constant sense of disruption, of being a little unsettled in your own space. Trapped, even.

And then the sun shows up.

Just like that, everything shifts. I feel lighter. Clearer. Like myself again. There’s this sudden, almost electric burst of creative energy, like something in me wakes up and says, okay, we’re back.

It’s wild how much light can change things.

So if you are coming back online this spring after being in the dark, do it. Step into it. Let yourself feel it.

And don’t forget, you were always in there.