I am sure that I am not alone in thinking that the arrival of Spring is much later than I would like it to be this year. Sure, it has already started, according to the calendar. The calendar is blissfully unaware that it’s still pretty cold and there are still about ten inches of snow covering much of my yard. Each day I wake up hopeful, wondering whether it will be the day that the sun comes out for so long that it melts away all that remains of winter. Ordinarily I would be concerned if the remaining snow were to melt so rapidly, as it would render my road impassable if it were to all go in one day. I’m so desperate to see grass and flowers at this point that an impassable road seems like a price that I would be very willing to pay so that I could see, for example, a single daffodil.
Parents of toddlers that live anywhere where the snow is still hanging on are probably nodding their heads in agreement. We need springtime weather to come soon because we are desperate to take our kids outside to play for extended periods of time. The kids are desperate to go out, too, and they probably don’t know how to articulate it with words yet, so they express it through their actions. Actions like running laps around the dining room table for ten minutes at a time, or asking whether I can throw a ball so that he can “bat” it with a stick – in the living room.
This winter has been very challenging because it has been so very long. It seems as though I have tried to provide my little guys with many opportunities for physical activity indoors – wrestling, running, playing “soccer”, “baseball”, catch, and chase. Oh, and bouncing around the living room on their blue inflatable dogs. We seem to have come to a point where the boys have had enough of these substitutes and will not rest (literally) until they can get their fill of the real thing – multiple hours of outdoor play every day. I always knew that playing outside was good for children, but until I had my little guys I never realized just how essential it is to their health and well being.
Perhaps the Easter Bunny will hop on by here with a big hair dryer and melt all of our snow away. Even if he doesn’t, you can rest assured that as soon as it does melt, my kids and I will be out in the yard all day long.
Photo by pdell on morguefile.com.