my spring rules
:: feed the birds - even if it's with a recycled pop bottle bird feeder
:: do not compare lawns (or anything at all) with your neighbors
:: if your lawn is more brown just wait and have a bit of patience...your lawn will eventually green up. If it doesn't quickly go purchase Super Green at the Home Depot.
:: apply your fertilizer carefully so you avoid stripes -- always remembering with gardening horror what your lawn looked like with stripes
:: take pictures of your daughters
:: always make a treasure map for easter baskets
:: continue to give Easter baskets to all of your children. Even those old ones.
:: thank your mother who still gives you your Easter Basket - with your favorite candies
:: buy bubbles
:: don't care if the bubbles spill
:: do not buy the crayola colored bubbles unless you want stains everywhere
:: resist them even though they look so fun and if you do buy them invest in good soap or be ready to explain away the orange colored hands. :)
:: write the current year with the word - spring - in chalk on your sidewalk
:: try not to care if your little boys run barefoot when it is only 54 degrees
:: spend the day cleaning your garden beds
:: order an iced coffee once the weather reaches 61 degrees. And sunny.
:: boil a dozen eggs for each child to decorate for Easter.
:: prepare to eat quite a few hard boiled eggs. (12x7kids =84 eggs)
:: let your kids hide the eggs for you
:: drive with the windows down
:: race with your kids while running
:: savor the returning health of Samuel (a new rule this year)
:: let your kids pick out plants for the garden
:: sit on the porch and read
:: take time to talk with your neighbors
:: make some lemonade with real lemons :)
:: wash your windows and then open them and let the curtains flap in the breeze
:: sit and watch your little ones laugh as they play outside
:: pump up the bike tires before they need to be used
:: try to ignore your allergies and just be thankful for the green
:: photograph buds in the days before they burst open
:: go for walks as a family
:: use the grill
:: pack away the winter stuff -- but wash it first
:: watch the sunrise
:: smell the spring rain
:: swing
and really
:: embrace the beauty and life found in spring.