Spring--Almost as Cool as Fall

Danee's recent post about spring has me thinking. I love all the seasons. I love the change in the weather, the mood, and of course the store merchandise. If I had to pick my favorite season, I would pick summer as my second favorite, but as my first favorite, I'd pick fall. I like the quiet as you nestle in at home and get introspective and at the same time I like the excitement in the air as you pick out school supplies and start thinking about family gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I like it for all the reasons that Tisha mentioned in this post last fall. Never could I fully relate with those of you who are spring lovers and choose it as your favorite season. But this year I have begun to understand.

For one, the kids and I just finished reading Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Now this guy is excited about spring. Open up the book to a random page, and start reading a passage, and I’d say you have a 50% chance that the passage is talking about how little green things begin coming alive and pushing through the wet earth, about the flowers uncurling and birds in a hurry to build their nests. So I have begun to be more aware of all the things that are churning under the dirt as spring makes its entrance.

For another, living in the country makes it a lot harder to miss spring (for people who tend to be somewhat oblivious, like me). Before living here, the only thing I'd seen like it was Bambi. Here in the country, all of a sudden the mama turkeys will be followed around by baby turkeys, the same goes for the mama ducks and quail and our freinds' lambs, and our field takes off and grows to the height of your chest. I'm not sure if the excitement in the fall is natural or rather a man-made result of school starting and holidays around the corner, but the excitement of spring is natural and involves everything alive. It makes Easter seem to fit in that much better this year, to feel things around you come alive as you celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

And finally, lets not forget one more harbinger of spring, and that is that grocery stores start to carry Cadbury Mini Eggs! It almost makes up for the fact that you have to give up hot chocolate this time of year. For any of you unfortunate friends and family who have not tried these orbs of delight, they are solid milk chocolate, different than the original Cadbury egg, with a crunch candy outside for which I've never tasted an equal.