The Days In Between

I'm quite sure this week as been a record snow melt here in the upper mid-west.  March is typically one of our snowiest months, I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't be this year.  Many people complain about the days in between winter and the actual "greening up" of spring.  It's wet, dirty, stark, dead.  While the exterior of my car would like to thank the city for using sand on our winter roads instead of salt, the interior of my car and home have some choice words for them.  It is inevitable that I will have to sweep on a daily basis just to keep the piles from sticking to our bare feet and being tracked all over the house.  It's a sure thing, that the boys will have to have, at least, two changes of cloths in a day.  I will be washing their boots, mittens and coats on a daily basis.  I have to imagine that for my boys, this is one of their favorite times of year.  The Days In Between...

To be honest it's one of my favorite times of the year too.  This is the one time when you truly appreciate the outdoors.  After the long winter, the sun never seems more your friend than now.  The smell of nature as it thaws, it's organic stench warms the soul.  The days in between when the air hurts your face and the senses are overwhelmed with the business of summer.

Neighbors whom, it seems, you haven't seen in ages, begin appearing in their yards and on the street.  

To the children, there is a feeling that this place, the place they have been for years, is a whole new planet waiting to be explored.  This of course always leads to wellies filled with mud, new holes in the pants, and fresh stains on the shirts.  It's a "farewell old friend" sort of time.  The days in between the old winter clothing and the new summer attire.  

The little ones show up outside not adorned from head to toe in layers of nylon and knitted accessories.  They appear to have grown in years since you've seen them last.  Their hair is different, they are saying new things, they look more and more like their unique self.  

This is a great time to slow down, regroup, breath.  The days in between winter routines and the chaos of summer activities.  It's a time to regain appreciating for childhood.  Tell yourselves, it's okay to get dirty so long as it was fun getting their.  

The days in between, they don't last long.  Enjoy them.  Get out and get dirty.  Find the joy in childhood.