It seems the last few days as if the world around is clamouring to get outside. My backyard overlooks several other backyards and we all don't have fences, so we share a lot of backyard space. As I was sitting looking out my window on Sunday, I saw my neighbor and his grandson pruning trees. My neighbor was a little bundled up but his grandson was in short sleeves and shorts. We had several families in our neighbor get new puppies over the holidays and the kids and puppies have been outside soaking up the sunshine. I am pretty sure I watched one of my neighbors snapping peas or cracking walnuts on his back porch yesterday. All the bikes are out of storage and cluttering up my driveway and garage. Are you enjoying a little bit of sunshine too?
I love the first peek of spring when everyone is so excited for it that it doesn't really matter that it isn't warm enough for shorts and that the ground is still muddy, you just want to be outside and feel the sunshine on your face and hands and in your hair. I like to pick my kids up from school and they have that outside been-playing-in-the-sunshine smell.
It feels like such a blessing to be able to be active when the weather starts to get warm again. To go from being cooped up in your house like you have been all winter to spreading out your arms and living in your outside spaces that seem like you haven't spent time there forever. I put on flip-flops to go pick the kids up from school yesterday! My toes are in a serious need for a pedicure, but it was so nice to not have to tuck them into my fur lined boots.
Pretty soon the warm days and the sunshine will be the norm and the kids will complain that it is too hot to go outside and too boring and that there is nothing to do, but right now, just like spring, all the fun is new and fresh and exciting. My 11 and 13 yr old spend an entire hour the other day throwing sticks as far as they could into the weeds. Just throwing sticks, into the weed patch. I image they held quite an interesting conversation on sticks and perhaps even weeds, or maybe they didn't, maybe they just threw sticks.
But I just absolutely love this time of year, the first few weeks of spring, whenever everything in the world is just begging to be explored and discovered, just like for the very first time. So take a walk today, sit in your porch swing and kick your legs, get out and meet all those new puppies in the neighborhood. You're probably going to have to end up cleaning the bikes up out of the driveway anyway.
Enjoy the Sunshine!
