We’re on our way towards Spring here in the Berkshires- and as the snow melts it leaves ice castles at the end of driveways and along the road- and while that sounds beautiful- I can assure you it is not. The castles are covered in dirt and the snow has melted into a pooly marsh, filled with trash left behind by the high school kids walking home in the afternoons and dead animals that got hit last October and have laid under the snow for months.
I know, right?
I’m starting to think about Easter, and as I took our walk this morning (almost 50 degrees and sunny, thankyouverymuch) I saw a bunch of Halloween decorations in people’s yards. The little tombstones and crosses that say “RIP” and have pictures of Dracula on them. It must have snowed last October and they just got covered up. Til now.
This is the second walk I’ve been able to take with Camper so far this year- the sidewalks are dirty, but clear, and I can’t wait for him to be able to run and play in the grass. Right now it’s a bit too cold to get wet and muddy, but soon it’ll be perfect. The green will come back, the trash will get picked up, the dead animals, too. Soon it’ll be REALLY spring, and all the wintery grossness will go away.
I wish I could say I liked any part of winter- but you know what? I really don’t. I’d be fine if fall faded into spring. I wouldn’t even miss the snow, I don’t think. Well, maybe on Christmas. But that’s it.
I’ve been thinking about how my Dad will probably powerwash the house soon, all the dirt and grime running off the white siding into the grass.
Today I cleaned the dining room. Washed all of my great-grandmother’s big wooden furniture (When she passed away my parents saved her dining room set, a hutch, a dry sink, a table and chairs. I don’t think they’re anyone’s style here, but she loved them so much, and we still love her.) and the piano. I filled up a bowl with warm water and Murphy’s Oil Soap and wiped them all down, then vacuumed away all the dust. I feel bad that I haven’t done it in so long but also nice that it’s clean now. I thought of Grandma June while I did it, and wondered what she’d say if she could see my son. I wonder if she’d close her eyes and just barely contain the happiness, if she’d cry when she hugged him like she used to when she hugged me. Just because she loved me so much.
Soon it’ll be green outside again and I’ll pray that Summer will last forever.
