Taking Advantage of Spring?

February 12:  Ice coats the ground.  I spend 10 minutes in the rain and sleet trying to chip ice off my car before I head to church.  When I head home 2-1/2 hours later, the ground is covered in slush and ice.  The day that I thought was supposed to get "better" (at least as far as the weather was concerned) has gotten worse.

February 19:  When my son and I head to church this morning neither of us wear coats.  There is a little chill in the air, after all it is February and just a little after nine in the morning.  By the time we head home, my son is anxious to get outside and play.  (And I'm anxious for him to change his clothes before he does so.)

What a difference a week makes.  From chopping ice and dealing with slippery roads to a day so warm that when I did an afternoon walk, I wore capris  and a three quarter length shirt and was too hot.  (I am not complaining about that!)  It might not officially be spring yet, but I am going to take advantage of it.  If the weather is like this wherever you might be, I hope you did too.

February is a short month, although it often seems long.  It seems like our worst winter storms hit in February.  (Not to tempt fate here.)  Here in my area we had 10 inches or so on February 9th.  Things started to melt out, only to have ice and rain on the 12th, resulting in a delayed school opening the following day (Monday) which was a blessing as it took me over an hour to clear a path from the house to the car.  (Don't ask me how much gas I have wasted warming up the car with the defroster blasting to help me get the ice off).

Late this afternoon, I took my book outside and read a chapter or two while sitting on my front steps.  It might have been a little chillier than I'd like (especially due to some wind), but for a February afternoon it was glorious.  If last Sunday felt like a horrible winter one, this one felt like it could have been Easter.  (Some crocuses were even trying to poke their heads out of the ground.  Nothing lightens my mood more than the first signs of spring flowers poking their heads up from out of the ground.)

This certainly will not last; there are still four or so more weeks until winter is officially over.  Even though the calendar says it is spring, doesn't mean that we can't still get some wintery weather.  Easter of 1970, which fell on March 29th that year, brought snow while Easter of 1976 on April 22 brought temperatures to the area that rivaled any day in July.  

They say make hay while the sun shines.  I say, take advantage of the spring like weather, even when it is not spring.  You can't count on the calendar when it comes to temperatures.  Therefore, when Weather.com tells me the next really nice day is going to be Thursday, you can bet that I will be sure to take my lunch hour outdoors.  It may by February 23rd (which was my maternal grandmother's birthday), but I'll be holding court on the bench outside of the office if the temperature truly turns out to be the 70 degrees that they are predicting.

Whatever the calendar may say, I will be taking advantage of spring, even if it only arrives for a day or so.