Thank God for Spring

I'll admit that, thus far in my life, Spring has been my least favorite season. I found it boring, dirty and ugly. Fall was where the action was at as far as I was concerned -- occasional Indian summer days, apples orchards and pumpkin patches, gorgeous colors everywhere you look, big beautiful mums on front porches, breaking in the fire place for the season, preparing for the holidays. All of these things, of course, lead to first snowfalls, sledding rides, ice skating, lots of fires, hot chocolate and wool socks. I love being cozy, so winter was just fine by me. And summer... well, who doesn't like summer? Spring just paled in comparison to all of the joys the other seasons held, and so for me, it was nothing more than a means to an end.

That is, until I moved to the frozen tundra and learned why God invented spring. It's the reward for making it through three months without seeing anything green; three months of being unable to expose any skin to the elements; three months of anxiety and worry when your kids had to traverse the ice that covered nearly every patch of pavement. Three months of not seeing your neighbors, of having to take the car to drive your baby down the block to the bus. Three months of choosing between being cooped up in your house or freezing your ass off.

I understand now, having lived through (almost, anyway) my second winter in Minnesota, that spring is utterly beautiful in its own right. Sure, I could talk about rebirth, new beginnings, awakenings, etc., as part of the glory of the season. And those things are all well and good. But they aren't the best parts.

The best parts are the little things that you can shed as part of your daily life that you didn't once think were a big deal but that eventually weigh you down. Like being able to get out the door five minutes sooner because you're not putting on gloves, hats and scarves. Having your child climb into his own carseat because he is no longer restrained by the bulk of his winter coat. Finishing off a bottle of Vitamin D supplements and not needing to rush to the co-op for more. Telling your kids to please, for the love of God, go outside and leave you alone for five minutes. (Sure, I could have done this in the winter, but inevitably, I would spend 15 minutes getting everyone suited up in their bib-style snowpants, boots, and other winter-wear essentials, they'd be out for 7 1/2 minutes, then someone would need to pee and we'd have to go through the whole process all over again. So not worth it.)

There are now more parking spots available at preschool and Target because mounds of snow have not been plowed into 1/3 of them. I ran around Lake Harriet today because it was finally warm enough to avoid my cold-weather asthma. The last few mornings, I have filled up my coffee cup, strolled with Noah to his bus stop and then chatted for a minute with the neighbors before heading home.

And this past weekend was a beautiful, wonderful, fantastic, perfect weekend. It was mostly sunny and 55 degrees. Admittedly, that's not exactly "warm," but it felt like heaven. We finally took down the outdoor Christmas lights! Hah! Who knew we'd turn into rednecks when we moved to Minnesota? Last year we thought everyone was being festive and fun by leaving their decorations out for so long. Now we know the truth. A) it's too damn cold to go outside in January (or February) to take them down; and B) even if you wanted to, the damn things are frozen in place anyway.

The boys broke out the scooters and did a few loops around. We even put Noah on his bike, sans training wheels, and he managed a few rides down the street with daddy just holding the seat. Friends came over on Sunday night and we cooked burgers on the grill, then ate outside! We also took Mabel for a walk. This in and of itself is huge, since she shivers like the dickens and is rendered immobile when temperature dips below 40.

I feel like a new woman. I know that we're likely to get at least another snowfall and some more days of freezing temperatures before winter is completely behind us for this year, but that's ok. This weekend showed us the light at the end of the tunnel. We can make it. And for the first year ever, I will actually enjoy every single spring-like moment we get.