New energy comes with spring

According to the calendar, winter is officially over. It is springtime.

Winter went out like the proverbial lion at our house. Last week we had three different people, a plumber, a repair person and a computer guy out to fix various problems. We are hoping that is the last of that for a good long while.

Now that it is officially spring we are anxious to get outside and play. As always, there is a ton of trash that the bushes have collected over the past few months. All the wind we have had lately has torn branches and twigs from the trees and distributed them all over the place. They all need to be picked up before the lawn gets mowed for the first time this season.

The snowdrops are still in bloom. Usually they come up early and disappear in a week or so. This year they have held onto their nodding blossoms for a month. The little flowers that bloom early are currently shivering and have their petals tightly closed in wait for warmer weather. The pussy willow’s catkins sparkle in the sunlight whenever the sun peeks out from the snow clouds that hover up above.

The dead clematis that my neighbor gave me is still blooming and all of the indoor plants are anxious to get some real sun on their leaves instead of the filtered light they get while they are indoors. It is still too early for them to go outside for the summer.

Spring comes with a burst of energy and a determination to finally complete various projects that have been started but never finished. The warmer weather inspires us to clean all the nooks and crannies that were neglected over the last few months.

The return of warmer days and sunshine are more effective than any other medicine in giving us a burst of energy and a more pleasant outlook on life.

Our middle grandson, Jacob, just turned 14. I find that hard to believe. How is it possible that 14 years have passed since we first saw him? I look closely at his picture and am surprised to see the beginning of a mustache. Our little grandson is growing up fast. It seems like yesterday that he and I were hiding from monsters while huddling in an empty refrigerator box.

It seems like yesterday that he was mad at me because I wouldn’t stick my hand into a dark tree stump to get the frog he knew was inside it. He doesn’t remember that and says he forgives me.

Sometimes I wonder how time can be so flexible. One minute we are impatient with time going so slowly and the next minute we have a grandson capable of growing his first mustache.

Springtime brings many changes. It is not just because it isn’t as cold as it has been. The air itself changes. The early flowers spread their perfume in hopes of attracting a pollinator or two. The world smells sweeter in the spring. The birds also are different from the ones that brave the winter. We wake to the tune of the doves calling. We watch for the hawk that comes for a fresh meal every once in a while.

Winter may be officially over but it will take another month or so before the warm weather returns for good.

In the meantime there are chores calling my name.