The first day of Spring, the last day of Spring Break, and a day to remember

Very Early Spring
by Katherine Mansfield

The fields are snowbound no longer;
There are little blue lakes and flags of tenderest green.
The snow has been caught up into the sky--
So many white clouds--and the blue of the sky is cold.
Now the sun walks in the forest,
He touches the bows and stems with his golden fingers;
They shiver, and wake from slumber.
Over the barren branches he shakes his yellow curls.
Yet is the forest full of the sound of tears....
A wind dances over the fields.
Shrill and clear the sound of her waking laughter,
Yet the little blue lakes tremble;
And the flags of tenderest green bend and quiver.


It was the first day of Spring on Friday.
Mostly cloudy and damp, with a cold rain coming on in the afternoon, it paled in comparison to the days preceding it.
All through the beginning of this week, the weather was simply gorgeous. Blue skies and breezes and sunshine. Warm temps, and on one day, it was almost hot.
We were giddy with it, the boys and I.
Drunk from the smell of warm, damp dirt, green grass, blooming buds.
We were outside every moment it was possible to be there.
This week has been full of hard work and even harder play, and I can't believe it is almost over.
Yes, tonight is our last Spring Break night.
There was a freedom to our days, an easy embracing of things we had to do and things we wanted to do, which we will be hard pressed to part with come Monday morning.
On Thursday, my mom, the boys, one of their friends and I went on an adventure.
The weather was a bit cooler than it had been the three days before, but the sun was shinning brightly, beckoning us out and about for a much needed day of play.
We packed up the car and headed out of town in the morning.
Our first stop, and an impromptu one at that, was at a museum in Galena that is housed in an old train depot. It holds much history of the town and its surrounding areas. We stayed there for a bit, looking at all the relics and listening to the elderly man and woman who were working there tell stories of how various pieces ended up at the museum, or what certain things were and how they worked. They answered any questions we had. The boys got a few Kodak moments in, and we were off -- but not too far.
By then, we were ready for lunch, but not being too familiar with the area, we decided to eat at a local cafe right next door to the museum that looked more like a tin box than a restaurant. But hey, Guy Fieri swears that some of the best places to eat in America are Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, so we gave it a try and hoped this place would be worthy of a spot on his popular t.v. show.
We walked in to one large room that had two unoccupied booths against one wall which comprised the "non-smoking section", and the entire rest of the room was dotted with people eating, smoking, and in some cases, eating while smoking.
I was pretty sure there were some codes being violated, but the food did look good, and we really had not seen anywhere else to eat (except a Sonic up the road, but that's not very exotic, and we were on an adventure, here!).
There was no name on the outside of the establishment, but the top of the menu read "Pickle Jeans Cafe."
We ordered, and after a short wait, had delicious lunches in front of us.
After we ate, it was off to the nature park.
The last time we were at that park, my dad was with us.
We pulled in and parked and got out of the car, and as soon as I saw the rocky beach of the river, I could see my dad, hood up against the biting wind of that long ago day, bending down to search the shallow for rocks and shells he thought my mom would like.
I stood for a long moment, my stomach twisting inside me, tears stinging my eyes, hoping against hope that I could close my eyes and open them again, and he would be there, grinning at me, holding up a treasure he was patient to find.
It was hard to let go of that moment, but my kids were running down to the river bank, and I ran down with them.
We spent our time there looking at nature, gathering rocks and shells. The boys played war among the trees and tall grasses. They got to explore a bat cave, too. Daniel played on the playground for a while. He loves to slide down the slide, and the bigger and twistier, the better. Sometimes, I think he's going to give me a heart attack!! Then, he got to take it easy and ride. He napped in peace out in the fresh air.


At one point, Josiah looked up at my mom and sighed, "This is a day to remember . . ."
There is a building there, high up on a hill, that looks out over the whole park. You can bird watch there, or look at the displays and books and live animals they have.
We had fun looking at all the stuff and talking to the two women who volunteer their time to open the place up and make it available to the public.
As the afternoon went on, we decided we needed to head home if we were going to make it in time for family dinner -- and we had to make it. I was cooking that evening.
On the way home, we stopped at another little gem of a place on what was old Rt. 66 (this place is actually briefly featured in the special features of the Disney Pixar movie, Cars).
It is a charming deli/grocery/souvenir shop and it has lots of Rt. 66 paraphernalia.
When I walked in, I got such a warm, old-timey feeling. I wanted to move right in!
Instead, I bought some seeds for my garden and we got some snacks to sustain us on our drive home, and we were off.
When we got home, we told Joe all about the day, and showed him the pictures of our adventures.
Our pleasant reunion was interrupted by a man with a bulldozer, who came to our door to inform us that the person who bought the property behind us was wanting to take the row of blackberry bushes that line the back of our property down so he can build a fence for his horses.
I was appalled. I do not want to lose those bushes! But Joe, ever the diplomat, talked to him and expressed our strong desire to keep the bushes where they are. He was also clear, however, that he did not want to and would not argue with our neighbor over bushes.
That was two days ago, and, as of today the bushes remain.
Later, at my mom's, I made pasta e fagoli and steak with a salad.
Grandpa, God bless him, made a coconut custard pie! Yum.
I have broken my Lenten fast too many times this week. I always had a good reason, but I am trying to teach my boys that reasons are not excuses, and so, I will endeavor to do better next week.
Yesterday, we left the boys with my mom, and Joe and I went out of town with our Pastor, Doug, and his wife, Denise, to edit a book Doug wrote about God's plan of legacy in the church. It is titled The Lost Treasure: Reclaiming the Inheritance of the Church. We had a wonderful time together, and I feel like, in working on this book, I have been a part of something so significant and integral to this important, foundational Kingdom principle of legacy being released into the earth. I know that reading over the manuscript as we were editing it, the material pierced my heart again over issues of legacy.
As I sit and reflect over the past few days, the words of Josiah come back to me . . . "This is a day to remember . . . "
I hope he does.
I hope they all remember every golden moment of these growing up years.
That is the reason I do this -- write this blog and stick in lots of pictures.
I write so they will remember.
So I will.
Here are some pictures from the day that I like: