OK -- so maybe it was just a tiny nibble. Like the bug being a "gnat" rather than a giant bee. I'm not ready to shed my sweaters yet; I still search the extended forecasts for any sign of coming snow. I actually do really, really like winter -- can't say it's my favorite season of the year, but I do not dislike it, not by any means. OK, truth be told, I can do without the bone-rattling near-zero weather we get from time to time, but the rest of it? I don't mind it one bit.Yet every year that Spring Bug comes buzzing around, and I am usually very conscious of the exact moment when it bites. When that thick, cozy sweater feels a little too claustrophobic; when the rammy kids have been indoors one day too many; when the aroma of the house is a bit too stale, itching for a window to be opened for a good airing-out. When the temperature reaches a certain red line on the thermometer, when the air just feels a little different than the day before ... I know when the Spring Bug bites.
I haven't reached that moment yet -- I'll know it when I do. But today I did feel the tiniest, most subtlest of nibbles. I am still wearing a thick corduroy shirt, and wool clogs embrace my feet. Perhaps part of it is due to the fact that we're having guests over for dinner on Saturday -- we'll do our usual all-out house cleaning (I do look forward to that), and I guess with that on my immediately horizon it gave me pause to look around my living room. For the first time, I tired of seeing snowmen, snowflakes, framed winter-theme scenes -- my lovely wintertime decorations. I usually leave these additions out for a while yet, through February. But I couldn't ignore that nibble. Indoors, at least, I was finally ready for winter to be over.
So this morning I packed away all my winter-themed items and brought them up to the attic. I rummage through Big Blue (our giant cupboard that Don made before our wedding), bringing out other lovely pieces that were hibernating -- glass, Mercer tiles, framed photos of my babies, etc. I dusted the surfaces, replaced my things ... and sighed comfortingly. My house is back to normal.
Books are still strewn about from this morning's reading-fest, Mr. Potato Head's body parts are scattered hither and yon, the creatures from Noah's Ark are congregating outside of their boat ... which is all part of our normalcy, really. But that little Springtime nibble came at a good time.
I guess one of these days I'll be (mentally) planning my garden.
1 comment:
I'm right there with ya - soups and hot chocolate and cozy fires are still sounding pretty good, but in another couple of weeks I'll be looking for those first crocuses to start poking their tender green shoots out. Having lived in many different places, I must say the seasons in New Jersey are very pleasant - we have four distinct ones, and they all seem to last their alloted calendar time. (Sorry to those from frigid climes who will still be having snow in April & May).
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