Celebrate

We were looking at photos a few days ago and Jon commented to me that we have "more pictures of that kid in pajamas than anything else." So it is not at all surprising to that while all our friends and acquaintances flooding Facebook with lovely pictures of their families from the weekend in new spring dress clothes, our kid was decorating eggs in . . . can you guess? His pajamas. With bed head to boot. Evidence that we are comfortable and joyous dissidents.

The first day of spring, better known as the spring equinox, was fully a week ago, but mother nature could not have provided a more beautiful sign of the lengthening days than we were graced with yesterday. Brilliant sun and warming temperatures brightened our crafting, decorating, and cooking as we prepared to celebrate with family. Weekends like this are a vital part of recovering from winter. They are the promise that entices us all from quasi-hibernation. I swear I have seen more neighbors in the past week than through all the past three months combined. 

And while much of the nation is also celebrating the end of a marked period of waiting, our own season of patience is just getting started—the bird migration is upon us. Our local friends, the ones that don't abandon us for warmer climes but still disappear mostly from hearing for the darkest months of the year, are starting to rejoin us in a tentative morning symphony. It will swell over the next few months as they become increasingly urgent in their communications, and as they are joined by summer-weathered friends. And the visitors that pass through for the briefest of moments will be on their way in just a few weeks. We actually saw our first Sandhill Cranes on February 28, sparking an impatience for early morning bird hikes.

But today was still a pajama day. A craft rabbits, decorate eggs, and eat chocolates day. A ring in spring with friends and family day.