A Busy Time

Ah, March.

It's only the fifth, but it's full-on spring around here. Sure, it helps that it's already 54 degrees at 9:20 in the morning. But to me, spring is more than just temperature.

It's suddenly not needing to turn on lights to leave the house at seven or come home later than 4:30.

It's sunlight streaking into my office again, glistening off the magnolia branches that are hoping it's okay to bud out right now.

It's the hundreds of bulbs just beginning to push their way up through the layers of still frozen and squishy mud and muck.

It's the all-of-a-sudden jam-packed schedule of going places and seeing people after a long two months of hermitage. For example, last weekend, the kid and I packed our butts onto the train for a whirlwind trip to Chicago. We crashed at the Lovely Zen-master Becca's house and spent all day Saturday at the Chicago Children's Museum before we took the train home early Sunday. Lawsy, it's going to be hard to top that much fun, but we are going to try.

This weekend, we are headed down to my folks' house. My sister's spring play is going on, and frankly, it's never too early to expose a young boy to musical theater. Balances out the Batman/Spiderman/Superman wars in this house. We don't brave the fall play, because the fall play has no singing and no dancing. My sister is super de duper excited that my kid will sit for singing and dancing. Plus, it will be a zoo. My mom's cats, my sister's cat and dog, my other sister's two dogs, and of course Jake the Three Legged Wonder Wiener. This is the sort of insanity that the kid thrives on. And he's hoping to practice casting a fishing line with his Pawpaw in preparation for a summer spent on a lake.

After that, well, another weird-but-fun weekend. Bull riding is coming to town, and the next night, my Gram will turn 94. My sisters and I are taking her out for a fancy-pants formal dinner.

That's right. Museums, musical theater, bull riding, and formal dining. Maybe my kid will grow up to be the world's first championship bull rider/Broadway star/chef. (I'd put my money on chef at the moment, frankly.) Keeping our options open, that's us.

Throw in some swimming lessons, our first organized child activity, and suddenly, winter is gone. I know it's going to get cold again - it always does - but on a day like today, I can almost pretend that winter is over.

Which means it's time to write another novel. Bull riding, anyone?