Jump Start to Spring

A week ago Ryan took the boys sledding while I sat on the couch and read the newspaper (Koen napped). We knew the end of the snow was coming, but there was plenty to sled on. By Tuesday it started warming and water rushed down the gutters and seeped into the frozen ground. Wednesday brought a hard enough rain to clean things up a bit, and Thursday I could smell the sweet spring dirt. Friday was cold and windy, but Saturday a warm front moved in and we moved out -- of the house and into the yard, street, anywhere that was unsheltered and in the welcomed sun. Everyone emerged from their houses, groups of parents and kids gathered together basking in the warmth of the sun and conversation. Kids made up games, rode bikes up and down the sidewalk, and shed layers of clothes as the afternoon went on. But it is tiring. Just breathing in the air for hours at a time when I am used to being in the heated domes of home and car and store made me sleepy by dinner time. We sprung the clocks ahead, but I feel like I am an hour behind. Elliott collapsed on the couch, no meltdown, no whining, just pure, beautiful exhaustion. Dietrich put his head on the table after he was done eating. They still rallied for bedtime and put on their usual show, but it was subdued and short-lived, the air now turning cooler and beckoning them towards a deep sleep. And it calls me too. I'm sure we'll have another dumping of snow -- after all, it isn't even April yet -- but what a treat. What a joy to be given a taste of spring so early.