How Do You Know When It's Spring?

“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” ~Mark Twainrn rnI’m so happy I’m so happy I’m so happy!!! It is the first day of spring. Woohoo. rnI know I am supposed to be concentrating on my writing and my house cleaning and paying some bills, but I am really just waiting for the kids to get home from school. They will be my excuse to go outside in the sunshine. rnI have a serious case of Spring Fever and no intentions of letting myself be cured. “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” ~Margaret Atwoodrn rnWe still have mounds of snow lingering around the yard, and several mud patches in other areas. If you look closely though, you can also see the very beginnings of my day lilies, pushing their way up into the sun. rnI want to walk barefoot in the yard. To feel the earth between my toes. I want to have a picnic. Is it warm enough? rnThis is the first sign of spring, for our family: The sun is still up after dinner. Instead of rushing straight to homework, I let the boys stay out until it is fully dark. rnFriends and school mates that we haven’t seen outdoors in months start showing up at the end of our driveway on their bicycles. Laughter rings through the neighborhood. rnAs darkness finally settles in, I go to the back porch and call my sons home. “Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.” ~Rainer Maria Rilkern rnThis is our true New Year’s Day: A day of beginnings and rebirth; a day to try something we have never done before; a day when we realize, one more time, that absolutely anything is possible. rnMaybe the coolest thing about spring is the way the Earth shows us something brand new... over and over and over again. rnIt reminds us that we are part of something ever-changing, but also timeless. rnIt is the first day of spring. It is time to walk in the dirt, or fly a kite. We feel – and honor – our roots, but know that our wings are back there, just waiting to unfold. How do you know when it’s Spring?