Lately...

"The spring comes suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh and a shout and hands full of flowers."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Lately I've been feeling a shift. A shift in our days. Our routine. Our moods. The shift in the weather is the reason. We've been treated with a few consecutive beautiful spring days, and it's made all the difference. Our free moments are spent outside on the driveway, at parks, going on walks, riding bikes, digging in the dirt, running wild and screaming, the wind catching our voices and smiles plastered on our faces. Lately I've been feeling the shift from scheduled days to the spontaneity of summer.

Ashton and I enjoyed a date to the thawing lake while Spencer was a preschool this week. With so much to look at and do, Ash wasn't sure which direction to run first. He threw leaves into the water, chased ducks and geese and swang in a swing overlooking the changing spring landscape.

We live about a half a mile outside of town in a newer subdivision. When the snow melts and temperatures allow for us to get outside, we like to take after supper family walks. The first one of the season happened this week. Instead of sitting contentedly in a stroller, Spencer made the trek on his bike. It was windy and farther than he's ever pedaled his little legs before, so Dave and I exchanged worried looks, imagining how one of us would be lugging a bike halfway through. But Spencer soldiered on, never faltering, and beamed proudly when he made it to our destination: a park.

The other day Spencer squealed with excitement that he spotted a flower in the garden. He showed it to me and then another. Two red tulips blooming where once snow buried any evidence of such life. The bare branches on the trees will soon be filled with green leaves and the songs of birds will become our summer soundtrack. And, lately, we've all been feeling these changes and can't quite contain our excitement. The long winter months are behind us, and our long summer days stretch before us with such promise. For now, we're dancing in the anticipation, enjoying this new found freedom that only a 60 degree day after The Big Thaw can bring.