Withdrawal

Spring... I'm aching for spring. Seriously, aching, yearning for spring. I was appreciating the cute little Mexican poppies that have sprung about here and there and the handful of fruit trees in our small town, with their pretty blossoms. Even the cottonwoods have started to unfurl their leaves and I was almost happy, knowing that it will still take awhile for the mesquites to get leaves and the grass to turn green. But now I want more. More, more, more! I want green grass, tulips, and daffodils. I want dogwoods, crab apples, magnolias, and cherries to bloom with their magnificent, intoxicating beauty. I want the Splendor of Spring. I'm suddenly not in the right place. I need to see and feel and be with the trees that bloom.

I didn't realize how strong this need was until this morning. A friend on facebook wrote about a magnolia tree on her post yesterday and I responded with a comment about my favorite cherry tree ever in Fair Haven, NJ. Since then, images of my favorite blooming trees have permeated my mind and I woke up this morning thinking about spring. I thought of all the places I've lived and the locations and neighborhoods of all my favorite trees. I remembered the walks and drives I took to see the trees time and again. Trees, trees, trees... Oh, how I miss them! I lay in bed this morning remembering, imagining, daydreaming about spring. And then finally I looked at the clock. 8:15. Whoops! School starts at 8:30. So I jumped out of bed, made lunches, dragged 2 kids out of bed (the other 2 were busy making a couch cushion fort in the living room) and told them to find something to eat, quick! Then we had a shoe crisis. My son lost one shoe at school yesterday (how does that happen?) and we could only find one snow boot for him, until I finally found a pair of flip flops he could wear. Then we picked up a friend we were giving a ride to school and got there by 8:40. All is well. Back to reality. I'll dream of spring again next year.