Spring seems to have the upper hand. The bushes have buds, and the forsythia has bloomed in the brightest yellow. The sun is so bright that every thing is lit by light. The sky is the deepest blue. The breeze is ever the slightest, and only a few brown leaves flutter from the scrub oak tree by the deck. More flowers have bloomed in the front garden. The morning is a poster day for spring.

When I was a kid, I had a spring jacket I loved. It had a zipper. It was lightweight. It was an acknowledgment of spring warmth. Gone was my winter coat, my hat and mittens, but I usually wore a sweater underneath my jacket as the mornings were still chilly. I had the best walk to school. The street was a straightaway with a sidewalk shaded by tall trees on both sides. I remember when the trees started to come alive. First came the buds then the tiny shoots opened. They were a light green, a different green than the leaves would be. By the time the leaves came, the mornings were warmer. It was time to ditch the sweater.

During recess, the girls stayed on one side of the school yard, and the boys stayed on the other. Both sides had small groups standing around just talking. The girls’ side also had rope jumpers. I was never a jumping rope fan as I wasn’t very good at it. The boys shot baskets. The hoop had green paint. When I was in the seventh grade, I played CYO basketball so I tried to get time at the hoops for girls’. I was told that basketball was for boys as girls’ had physical limitations related to being female. I protested, but it didn’t matter. We never played hoops. 

Today is Good Friday. We had it off from school but were required to keep vigil in the church for a time. I remember the church looked dark. All the statues were covered in purple cloth. People sat here and there mostly with heads bent in prayer. I was always bored. I had my missal with me, but it wasn’t an exciting read. The time passed so slowly I swear I was there for days. I was so excited when the nun gave us permission to leave. Freedom!

I feel almost back to myself today. I can reach without moaning in pain. My hand is almost clear of black and blues. My chest hurts only a little. It is a happy day!!

 Today is such a lovely sunny day after so many rainy and cloudy days. It will be in the high 40’s. Tonight, though, will be cold, in the 30’s. I think I’ll spend a little time in the sun on the deck.

The dogs love this weather. They stay out longer, and Nala either lies in the yard or sits on the deck stairs. She comes inside, and her fur is always hot. Henry goes in and out. He drives me crazy as he won’t come in the dog door and waits for me to let him inside; however, he’ll run inside if someone is out front. 

Yesterday in the paper was a picture of daffodils. The caption, bold and in caps, read Pop of Color. The picture was in black and white. In an article in the same paper, the writer mentioned that a woman had two twins. I bet she is glad she doesn’t have three twins. 

When I was a kid, my weekdays all had the same schedule. Most of my day was spent in school. It was only in the afternoons I could be creative with time. Some days I rode my bike. Other days I played outside. Sometimes I stayed inside and read or colored or watched TV. I remember sitting at the kitchen table to color while my mother was making dinner. I watched her peel potatoes. There were always potatoes, always mashed potatoes. They are a comfort food for me. 

My dad had no talent when it came to fixing up the house. He once ravaged a toilet. The plumber wanted to know how that happened. When he was painting the side of the house, the ladder started to slide. My father went with it and held the brush against the house. The strokes followed the slide sideways of the ladder. Another time he was cutting a branch off a tree in the backyard. He was sitting on the wrong side of the branch. He sawed and the branch fell with him on it. He hit the ground. I had seen it happening and called my mother to watch. The branch wasn’t far from the ground so he was fine. We just shook our heads. It was definitely a dad thing. He got a shock from some appliance he was trying to fix. He got cut fingers from a fan. When my father retired, he was given a set of tools. The man who presented them to him mentioned how my mother said my dad liked to putter round the house. What she meant was he liked to empty ashtrays and do dishes. 

Long ago I took a woodworking class. I made a small table. The saws scared me a bit given my genetic make-up. I could envision the saw cutting off the tips of my fingers. Luckily, it didn’t happen. I made the table, and all of my digits were intact.