Spring Will Come

I should have fallen asleep last night with a complete sense of satisfaction, but I almost felt a bit anxious as I hit the sheets. After watching my kids suck every enjoyable moment out of a much deserved seventy-degree day in March, I knew it was just a blip on the spring-in-Chicago screen. I cursed the weatherman as he announced the fifties and forties to come over the next several days. You see, on Sunday morning, I packed all of our winter coats away. Some may call it wishful thinking, others might say I jinxed us all, but I just couldn't take another day of squeezing through the overcrowded mudroom full of coats of every shape and warmth. Whether or not Mother Nature agrees, it is time.


Yesterday, in flip flops and shorts, Logan, Riley and Finn jumped on the trampoline, sped by on bikes, played tag, swung and ran around the backyard until their bare feet were black on the bottom. (One of this barefoot mama's favorite signs of summer.) Inspired by the high temps to head to the shoe store after a birthday lunch with Grammy, I didn't even mind when I pulled Finn's clean white socks off to bear his filthy feet! Hey, I didn't have time to wash them before lunch and I knew it was bath night.


We drove home with windows down and Miley high up and watched as the shoe store balloons danced to the music. "This is fun!" Finn squealed as Riley sang out loud. Later, Logan came home from swimming in just her suit and towel - easy and much more comfortable than dressing in a cramped bathroom with twenty other kids and bundling up in a coat and mittens. Even the dog was beat last night after a whole day outside in the elements - we all needed a day like this.


It has been a LONG winter. It will be much cooler today, and although I harbor a secret fear that it may never materialize, I know that spring will come. And those warm coats, they're staying packed up. We'll let that crisp cool air remind us that a fresh new season is just days away.