Spring has sprung

If I’m being honest, spring is not my favorite season. Something about the turbulence of the weather {storms!}, the pollen, and the reminder that I need to clean and organize every corner of our house leaves me less a fan of spring and more a fan of autumn. But, the beginning of every season in this part of the country is a tangible reminder that things are changing. Winter and summer may come on more subtly, but in Tennessee the fall and spring are chockfull of sensory overload. In late March or early April we can see the dogwoods and the crocus bloom, smell the fresh cut grass, and feel the warmth of the late-afternoon sun. I love how our four fairly distinct seasons divide the year up into segments that help us notice the passage of time and all that is growing or changing around us ~ people and plants alike.

Two seasons ago when fall was just settling in, we were struggling with the 2nd Grader’s anxieties. Thankfully, she has come a long way and moved through her particularly paralyzing fear of getting sick at school. She can still tell you the name and details of every child who has been ill in or near her classroom and her hand-washing rivals that of a surgeon doing a pre-operative scrub in, but she doesn’t obsess about sickness every morning. Like her mother, she will probably always battle anxiety as she grows and it may manifest in other ways at different times. For now, though, we’re in another season that will have its own set of challenges and opportunities. And something about seeing the flowers bloom and hearing the buzz of bees and birds outside reminds me to be thankful for the freshness of spring.

Speaking of being thankful… This is the worksheet the Preschooler came home from church with this past Sunday.

When I asked her about the blatant omission of her Daddy and her sisters she gasped and said, “Oh no! I forgot them!! Can we just write them in somewhere?”

It happens to the best of us. We remember our teeth and forget our family.

At least we’re making the dentist proud. And, one might argue that including the “whole entire world” on the list made up for any oversights.

I think the “thankful” worksheet from church may have been stashed in her cubby for awhile because the topic they discussed this past Sunday was actually the story of Mary and Joseph searching for Jesus when he was a boy. I know this because she made this puppet of Mary which we mistakenly confused for a red-bearded man.

Once she set us straight about who the puppet represented she proceeded to run around the house acting like Mary when she was searching for Jesus. She told us all about how Mary and Joseph couldn’t find him but then they did and Jesus told them they shouldn’t have been worried because the whole time:

“He had just been at his grandfather’s house!”

There you have it. The Gospel of Luke according to a 5-year old.

I love this because while the story got a little misconstrued, the basis premise is the same. Jesus was safe and somewhere he loved to be. We can iron the details and the theology out later.

Children may be inundated with more technology and activities than ever these days, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t listening to all that’s going on around them. They’re still little sponges, and not just at story time. I’ve heard the girls use some of my exact phrasing, good and bad, on each other. “For the love!” has become one of the Preschooler’s favorite new expressions when she’s exasperated with her sisters. Not too long ago the 2nd Grader asked, “What does holy crap mean?” I made up what I thought was a decent answer and asked her why she wanted to know. And to that she replied, “Oh, because you say it all the time.”

Lovely. Maybe spring is a good reminder for me to clean up more than our garage and closets.

I love this quote about the season:

“I am going to try to pay attention to the spring. I am going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees. I am going to close my eyes and listen.” ~ Anne Lamott

Only I’ll probably need to keep my eyes open where the girls and scooters and Rosie the dog {who thinks she’s a person} are concerned.