“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” – Mr. Rogers

Winter is slowly but surely coming to an end. I know this because the little crocus blooms in my yard are signaling the beginning of spring!

(Technically, there were signals prior to this; I’m just in love with my little flowers.)

With a new season approaching, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about Mr. Rogers, whose birthday happens to fall on the first day of spring. It’s hard to imagine a more fitting pairing. And when you add in the fact that March 20 is also the International Day of Happiness, it starts to feel less like coincidence and more like a God wink — or maybe a full‑on God laugh. You know he had to have nudged an angel and said, “Watch this little trifecta…” as He gifted us that joyful cluster of kindness, happiness, and possibility.

But there’s something about today — the anniversary of his departure — that always lands differently. My thoughts of him on his birthday feel bright, wrapped in a soft and joyous yellow (which I only recently learned was his favorite color), much like my little flowers. You’d think the memory would be red, like one of his sweaters, or blue, like the walls we remember so well. But it’s always yellow.

His death, though, is shaded in a heavy gray. A rainy‑day gray. It’s hard not to wonder: what new beginning could possibly follow after his light went out? I often catch myself imagining what he would say about the world today — about the animosity, the cruelty, the startling shortage of empathy or even simple human decency.

But maybe the answer has been with me all along.

The first day of spring will always feel like a new beginning — and a moment to remember and celebrate someone who taught us to look for the helpers and to recognize the inherent value in every person. No matter what the world brings, we can shake off the gray and let yellow light the way. His legacy endures because part of the world will always choose goodness, kindness, and love. And in the end, love will prevail.