The One About Spring

 March 20.  Spring begins.  Officially.  Living in Tennessee, there’s
been spring here for some time.  Sure, we had some nasty weather.  But
the saying goes that if you don’t like the weather around here wait a
few hours and it’ll change.  So it was no big surprise to have
beautiful spring days in the first week of January.  They didn’t
stick, but they were there for a second.  And they popped back up
again to tease us in February.  Just like we’re sure to get some
mighty cold days ahead just to mess with us.

 What I enjoy, however, is how the warm days peppered in among the
cold change the habits of those around us.  I recall one day toward
the end of January.  Sure, it had reached 50 degrees.  But did that
mean that everyone had to pull out his or her shorts and flip-flops?
And yet, they did.  One of my friends called me from Wal-Mart to
report that everyone was inappropriately dressed.  Warm weather will
mess you up.

 You start thinking crazy thoughts like, I should really clean out my
closet.  And mean it this time.  I’ve been outside more, like the rest
of the world.  And now I have a list of outdoor chores.  I’m already
failing in indoor chore doing.  Why did it have to get nice out so I
could feel guilty about not doing more stuff?  And we changed the
clocks earlier.  So there’s more daylight.  So I’m even more messed
up.  I’m sure I’m not alone.

 It’s March people.  You know the deadline you’re under?  If you want
grass, you’ve got to get it seeded this month.  Your butterfly bushes
need to be cut back to 12 inches this month.  But don’t cut back the
azaleas or forsythias or you’ll be cutting back this season’s blooms.
I made that mistake.  Once.  The dead wood needs to be removed from
all your trees and shrubs and explaining the three levels of growth on
a hydrangea, well, I can do it, but it’s complicated.  Just know
you’ve got to do it all this month.  And the mulching, the mulching.

 Plus, you’ve got to send your husband up a ladder just because it’s
amusing.  Oh, and to clean out the gutters.  And seriously, don’t your
vehicles need a good airing out?  (The warmer temperatures have one of
my inner circle saying they’re going topless.  I’ll let you ponder if
they’re talking about their wardrobe choice or their vehicle.)
And you do realize taxes are due next month?  How come every year I
say I’ll do mine in January and I never do?  Why doesn’t anyone remind
me?

It’s just a few weeks until the big dance recital in April for Anna
Grace.  And me.  I’ll bet she knows her routine.  And she’s turning
four at the end of May and is expecting a party.  Plus, her birthday
is just a few days after our nephew Adam is getting married.  Good
news on that one, all we have to do is drive a few hours and show up.
That I can do.  Head spinning.  Spiraling.  Spiraling.

Sigh.  I really need to stop and enjoy the vernal equinox more.  The
solar year is getting shorter.  Can’t you tell?  No wonder I feel like
I’m running out of time.