The thaw of spring is promising to all of us who found ourselves hibernating during the shorter winter days. Plenty of work was done during the winter months, but the extra daylight and warmer temperatures invigorates us all with an added boost of energy. It is natural at this time of year to feel renewed. In just over a week, the legislative session in Annapolis will wrap up, and our members working in Baltimore city schools (as well as students and education professionals across the region) are currently on Spring Break.
This signals one season ending and another getting started. Yes, the spring season is also the rainy season for us, however, I see that as a beautiful metaphor to wash away all that was old to make space for things that are new. We should not reserve starting anew for just the beginning of the calendar year when many people make resolutions. Instead, I invite us to see the changing seasons, the changing weather, and the change of the length of daylight as a chance for us to begin again. Your state federation has begun again with a new location that better allows us to serve every member of AFT Maryland. We have the space to host and facilitate meetings, trainings, and workspace for union activities to blossom.
Spring also brings a number of significant religious occasions that invite the believers of that faith to also see this time as a period of renewal and change. Members in our state federation are currently or will soon celebrate sacred holidays such as Passover, Ramadan, and Easter. I hope that everyone celebrating these or any sacred holidays during this time connect deeply with what centers their souls and recalibrates their moral compass. I hope we all enjoy the new vivacious colors that nature brings forth and it incites in us a change fitting of the beauty of nature.
Thank you to all members of our federation and Happy Spring!