Its spring! We made it through the long, harsh New England winter.
Today, I threw open the windows, opened the back door and released my toddler out into the warm morning air. He runs around the yard playing with trucks while I sit on the porch steps sipping my coffee. It’s as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I am flooded with relief. As the days grow warmer, I can slowly feel my sanity returning. I don’t know about you, but to me, long, cold winters with babies and toddlers are brutally difficult. By February, cabin fever has set in, everyone is sick or has been sick, and I have watched enough PBS Kids shows for a lifetime. The cardio workout I get everyday from shoving tiny toddler legs into snow pants has grown old.
I welcome spring with open arms, ushering in the sound of chirping robins and the sight of tiny, mud covered hands. Spring brings me back to life, and it recharges my sanity. And this is why:
- Fresh Air: Without bitter cold temperatures and windchill warnings, we can spend our days outside. Out come the scooters, strollers, push bikes, and trikes. One of my favorite warm weather pastimes and a surefire cure for that inevitable witching hour: Post dinner walks around the neighborhood.
- Quick and Easy Dinners: Spring means I can put away the crockpot and bust out the grill. I do love a good lasagna or pot roast. However, the convenience of throwing some chicken or burgers on the grill or mixing up a quick pasta salad far outweigh those cozy comfort foods. Best of all, warm weather means dinner outside. Therefore, I spend less time on my hands and knees scraping up dried spaghetti sauce or the unknown sticky substance underneath the dining room table.
- Outdoor Festivals, Markets, and Concerts: Those cold, long, lazy Saturdays suddenly become filled with outings to the farmers markets and outdoor concerts. Here are my top three favorite spring time festivals in Vermont:
- Less Laundry and Fewer Layers: Winter is filled with endless baskets of laundry: socks, sweaters, bulky flannel lined jeans, pee soaked snow pants, etc. I am always trying to keep up with the never-ending laundry cycle. With warm weather there are only shorts, t-shirts and light jackets to wash, which makes my load significantly lighter. Most importantly, warm weather makes it much easier to get out the door and on with the day. I am not scrambling to find a lost boot or mitten. I am no longer rushing inside peeling off layers as fast as possible as my toddler shouts that he has to go potty.
- Goodbye Sickness: By mid-march I am sick of being sick. One to three rounds of the stomach bug, half a dozen colds and whipping endless streams of boogers… need I say more?
