Save Me a Seat on the Seesaw

Spring has arrived on the outskirts of Lovetown, greeted with a relieved exhale by stir-crazy housewives. A few green shoots have appeared on the willow tree at the end of our pond. And there was an entire flock of red-breasted robins behind our house this morning. (Was trying to get Hank to share in my enthusiasm, but he was more interested in his Legos.) My kids were still in hats and mittens today, but it’s coming. I can smell it, taste it. There’s a lot to hate about this exurban wasteland, but spring leaves nothing to complain about. In fact it’s often just about perfect in my little corner of the commonwealth. The weather is generally fine, and there’s enough active agriculture going on (amidst the mansion tracts) to provide an abundant supply of cute baby animals.

I’m an April baby (born in DC during the cherry blossom festival) and every year my state of mind starts to improve dramatically once I start hearing the birds in the morning and see a few sprigs of forsythia. We had a few balmy days last week, and the kids and I took a walk around Grandma’s village. We stopped to see Linda, the local shopkeeper who raises sheep in the fields behind her store. She has some gorgeous dappled lambs this year. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on who you ask) they’re rams, which means they are destined for Linda’s lamb sausage (delicious with Vidalia onion sauce).

The warming weather brings droves of preschoolers and their winter-weary mothers out to local playgrounds. I’m an absolute playground junkie—the random social interactions are refreshing, and it’s nice to be able to set up play dates without having to invite people into your chaos. Hallelujah for public spaces.

And the icing on the cake? Chocolate Mini-Eggs of course. My man came home and gave me a smooch with Cadbury on his breath and I knew spring had sprung. I’m not much for milk chocolate in general, but there’s something addictive about that crunchy little eggshell they have going on. I’ve noticed they’re always the first Easter candy they run out of at our crummy little Rite Aid, so my fellow hayseeds must dig em too. Speaking of digging… time to get the roto tiller out of the shed and plant some greens.