Spring is the best season in all the land. Why, you ask?
Because I said so, that’s why.
Because I said so, that’s why.
There’s something about the end of cold and the
beginning of warmth. It’s the new life
that awakens literally overnight – the grass was slumbering just yesterday, a frozen
and brown winter blanket. Then today,
it’s tinged with green. In a week, the
grass is ankle-deep. Buds sprout on tree
branches and flowers emerge from the ground, promising color and scents that
were missing in the winter. The world
gets more vibrant every day; you can watch it unfold. I can’t find enough words to describe the
beauty and the feeling of awakening, stretching and growing that is spring.
As an aside, I’m quite positive that people
find their favorite season to be the one in which their birthday falls. It’s a little ongoing research project of
mine. Ask anyone their favorite season –
quick, without thinking – and it will most likely be the one they were born
into. Mine is spring, my husband’s
fall. Both our birthday seasons. My kids – both spring chicks – love summer,
but they don’t count because they are weirdos, and plus they are kids and
everyone knows that kids are dumb.
Sigh.
Just joking. Calm down.
I do like change. Any change, really. I’m open to it, and although I can wear a
routine down the nub, I don’t balk at change.
In our house in spring, we change our clothes, our eating habits, even
the type of sheets on our bed. We change
our clocks to shift the daylight hours so we can capture one more hour of
sunlight. Spring is a fresh start to a
new life, not just new fashion choices.
Even an old life can use a good sprucing up in
spring. Why not?
Here are my top non-fashion must-haves for the
season:
1. Less fat. I mean
on my body. OMG YOU GUYS I ATE SO MUCH
OVER THE WINTER. I am a slave to
carbohydrates. In the form of red
wine. And creamy chowders and breads and
cookies. In spring I don’t feel like I’m
dying if I have a salad for lunch, because it’s not freezing outside and my
body isn’t screaming WARM ME WITH FOOD.
I always stop eating like a hog in spring, and it shows on my butt
waistline.
2. More exposed skin. I’m not quite shorts-ready in spring, but my
ankles are. And so are my neck and
elbows. In winter I wear knee socks like
a Catholic schoolgirl every single day and wear layers upon layers of sweater
material from hip to chin. I know why
old ladies wear pantyhose under their slacks and decorative sweatshirts every
day. It’s warmth, people. Last year the winter was so cold for so long
that my skin began to break out from being covered for too long. Ankles and shoulders need to breathe by
springtime. NEED.
4. Lady medicine. In the winter I want to die. At least, I’d not be too sad if I did. So I rarely go to the regular doc in winter –
I take chances with my health that way.
But when it starts getting warmer, I’m in the stirrups like Roy Rogers on Trigger. Throw in a mammogram
and it’s a party. My birthday’s in the
spring, therefore so are my doctor appointments. I admit – it sort of ruins spring a little. And maybe this list is a little lame.
5. Pedicures.
Self-inflicted or not, my toes need serious attention in the
spring. I usually get a good one right
about now and try to keep up through summer so I can wear sandals without
scaring off small children and adults with weak stomachs.
6. Get rid of all the baggage. Seriously.
Our house collects bags like you wouldn’t believe over the winter. I think we have 60 bags lying around. So we get rid of the excess. That and
clothing and household items we don’t use anymore. I always get a rush of spring cleaning right
about now and go around the house with a garbage bag and throw stuff in
randomly – art right off the walls, knickknacks, half of everything my husband
keeps in all of his drawers. We never
miss any of it, ever.
7. A shopping spree. To replace all the stuff we just got rid of, silly. Everyone needs at least one new pair of shoes
or a new umbrella or something in spring.
Especially me.
8. Schedule for the summer. Look.
If I didn’t schedule things for the summer starting in the springtime,
we would end up at every single existing outside sporting event or suffer
campfires every weekend even when it’s 95 degrees. It’s the man of the house’s way. It’s much easier to feign disappointment that
we can’t go to yet another minor league baseball game because the kids have
camp and I was planning on visiting my parents that day.
There you have it – my list of erm… must-haves
for spring. I stopped at eight because
most of my other must-haves are fashion-related, and I didn’t want to ruin the
integrity of my no-fashion list. At
least two of the things on my list are fashion-related anyway. Let’s be real here – I was tired of trying to
come up with things that I feel like I have to do in springtime. Honestly, I just really love spring for all
of the things that it promises. Mostly
that school will be ending soon and the sun will be shining more and I can go
outside and soak it in for a minute or two before the bugs start buzzing me and
I’m inside again.
Not our yard yet, my pretties. But soon. Soon! |
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This post inspired by:
Prompt #1: Write a list of your top Spring must-haves.