sing it - "Saturday ...in the park ...

i think it was the 4th of July .... "

oh, i love that song! and i am thinking of summer, here. well, spring, more like it. why, you ask, as you remember i live in the blustery-this-time-of-year new england ??!! because the windows are open - it's chilly, yes - and the birds are singing. it's march. and the weather should be decent this weekend.

and dagnabbit, that snow is just not happening. so, i've smartly left it behind. it isn't going to happen. we aren't getting snow this winter.

bummer.

we had a rain storm yesterday, same storm that his the northern section of ne, but left a foot - yes 12 INCHES of snow there, and we, well, we got flooded. literally. our pool is so full, we called our firefighter friend for the *big* pump to get some of that water out. we had puddles - well, more like ponds - all over the backyard yesterday. there were washed out streets and floods all over our city.

i was hoping for the snow so that the kids and i could go sledding together for the 2nd time this year. the first was tuesday afternoon. by the time we left the hill, there were more patches of grass on that hill than there was snow ..... wasn't exactly the "sledding kind of snowfall". it was one that had we had several snow storms prior to that, and enjoyed loads of sledding, we would have completely ignored the pathetic 2 inches that fell. but desperate times call for desperate measures ..... we *needed to sled* so we went in hopes that we'd get some good runs in before the snow was all gone. we were able to hang for about 90 minutes. not bad, but tricky keeping the snow under us as it washed away with each run.

i don't even ski. my kids snowboard, but for me to be wishing for snow, and wanting to have some winter wonderland is SO out of character for me. don't get me wrong, love the snow - always have - the beauty, the smell, the fun you can have in it. but for me now is the sheer exhilaration of watching your kids have the freedom and the delight with the journey donw that hill! it's the snowman on the front lawn, it's the paw prints from the dogs joining the family snowball fight out front. it's the pelasure that snow brings. the red cheeks, the snuggle under the blanket afterwards, the shouts of glee as they decend the hill on board, or sled.

i love to see the freedom in their faces, and feel the joy they capture. i love the excitement in their step as we march to the hill. i love the whole picture ......

so, spring brings that too. they can be outside and play and find new things, and explore, and build forts, and seek treasures, and enjoy the freedom of the outdoors for hours instead of just moments in the blustery wind of winter (when you're not sledding, the winter just seems *cold* on your face, and it's hard to play outside in that, isn't it?)

that's why i am feeling springy today. time to move forward and bring on the new stage.

so, enjoy your weekend .... and i hope for whatever you're wishing for coming your way .....