Europe has celebrated the first day of spring today while us, Americans, will have to wait for another 20 days. I decided that given my heritage and even more, my desires, the first day of spring at my house did not have to wait, it had to be today.
This winter was not a winter at all, even for Maryland. There were a few cold and proper wintery periods but mostly it was unseasonably warm. As a result, viruses never went away and allergies have already started. My kids "celebrated" the end of winter by taking turns being sick constantly for the past 4 weeks, navigating through viruses, ear infections and strep. Needless to say, they gave some of it to me, so I currently feel spent and in a bad need of spring, vitamins and sunshine.
Today was a perfect spring day - 67F and sunny - and I totally refuse to listen to the weather channel telling me it will snow this Sunday. Never mind that, I THINK IT IS SPRING!
A couple of mornings ago I woke up to a strange sound. It was dark but I heard it really clearly - something squeaked. I lay in bed listening in the dark - maybe it was one of the kids. But no, it was a bird. One of the first messengers, it showed up in our backyard and was trying out its spring song. That gave me some hope - something I really needed to get through another week of feverish children and runny noses. Actually, it gave me so much of a positive jolt, that I went sketching and came up with a series of designs of little birdie medallions. This is the first one I have made, and others are to come shortly.