Children's Photos That Sing!

This was originally posted on Facebook on March 12th... But it seemed appropriate for here, too. :)

It is finally - finally! - beginning to *truly* feel like spring might actually be, well, springing.

I love winter. Adore it. The smell of the fire, cozying up with hot chocolate, bundling up with your loved ones. Advent, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day. And, yes, snow. I LOVE the snow, from the first flakes in October or November to the last snow that falls in April (or, eeek, May), I love all of it. My husband has always agreed with me, and it seems that E and A feel the same.

So, as winter gives way to spring each year, I typically don't feel the general IT'S ABOUT FREAKIN' TIME elation that many folks seem to experience. In some ways, I'm even sad that winter is over. And this year, as the temperatures began to rise only days after the first BIG snow of the year, I felt my usual twinges of regret.

Until we stepped outside.

Suddenly, everything changed. The days were brighter (quite literally - without the ever-present clouds, everything appeared lighter and crisper). The air felt... fresh. The girls could run around outside without having to be bundled in layer upon layer. A general sense of refreshment and freedom seemed to wash over everyone in the neighborhood as throngs of dog-walkers, bike-riders, scooter-kids, stroller-pushers, rollerbladers, and folks simply out for a walk began to rush into the street - myself included. Jackets have been shed, mittens are nowhere to be seen, and even short-sleeved shirts and bare legs are making their first appearances this year.

Today, the girls wanted to play outside both before and after rest. There was hula-hooping, bike-riding, scooter-pushing, sidewalk-chalking, dog-walking, golf club-swinging, ball-tossing, and hop-scotching. And in between, there was a heckuva lot of happy screeching, snow-remnant stomping, and general running amok as they soaked in these first days of almost-spring. (E spent a good 5 minutes running circles in the driveway, looking at the shadow her dress cast and saying, "Mommy! Can you beLIEVE how beautiful my dress looks floating in the breeze?" )

After taking the puppy for a walk, A decided she'd had enough of just *looking* at the melted-snow puddles all around the neighborhood; it was time to take some action and actually ENJOY them. And who was I to stop her? That's what washing machines are for.

For me, though, the truly magical moments occurred as A began wandering up the street, away from the cul-de-sac (and farther away from me). I called after her to stop, saying it was far enough, and to return... But she was much too interested in the puddles to bother listening. Just then, a boy (right around 10 years old) playing with friends across the circle noticed A's and my "discussion." Without saying a word to me, he crossed the street to her and began persuading her to come back to the house.

Just after they arrived at the driveway, the boy - who'd been joined by his friends (at one point, there were 14 kids playing in the cul-de-sac) - took notice of the hopscotch board E had drawn with another neighbor boy. She had proudly made not ten, but TWENTY boxes (oooh! ahh!)... and they were each approximately postage-stamp sized, making the board all but impossible to actually "hop" in. Completely undaunted by the ridiculous task, nor embarrassed to be seen hopscotching on this March afternoon, one by one, each of the neighborhood kids - nearly all boys, ranging from ages 5 to 12 - took turns jumping through E's miniature hopscotch board.

The very idea that these boys would take an interest in my little girls - a kind, sweet, genuine interest - just blew me away. (They have done this often, so I should stop being surprised, but their actions never fail to make me smile.) And seeing more than a dozen kids frolicking in our circle on this gorgeous nearly-spring afternoon, along with my two little girls, just reinforced for me a thousand times over why we moved here in the first place.

Spring is coming. And it feels delicious. :)