A sunny day with a blue sky and warm temperatures almost makes me wonder if I’m delusional. My mind is having trouble wrapping around this change in weather. It’s hard to believe, I know, but it is actually above freezing and will get to the 40’s today. The sides of my street are a stream of water from the melting plow piles. My birdseed barrel is no longer frozen to the deck. My front lawn is snowless. I wore my slippers to get the papers, and my socks didn’t get wet. My mouth is agape.

My furnace needed a new blower motor. It was around 62˚ in here by the time it was fixed, but it didn’t take long for the house to be warm and cozy again. The furnace even blows more quietly now. The bill will be in the mail.

When we’d have a string of warm days, I’d start riding my bike to school. It was mostly downhill in the morning until the straightaway which led directly to school. The bike rack was in the schoolyard under the trees. It was made of wood and painted green. We never used locks, and I don’t remember anyone ever having a bike stolen. The ride home was uphill, and by the time I was halfway up the hill by my house, I was walking my bike. It was early in the season, and my legs weren’t hill ready yet. They wouldn’t be until closer to summer when I would always ride all the way up the big hill and never think of stopping.

A day like today meant putting the winter coat, the hat, the mittens and the scarf away even if only for this one day. It was a wonderful freedom of movement. I loved my spring jackets. They were always light colors, usually pastels. I’d wear a sweater underneath until it got warm enough for just the jacket, for when spring was in full bloom.

In the spring I always felt like skipping. Walking wasn’t joyous enough.