This time of year is tough for me. Living in Minnesota, winter has a tendency to hold on way too long for my liking. Sometimes it is the middle of April before spring makes even the slightest appearance. And it isn’t unheard of to often be freezing in May. I find myself this week of Easter praying for all things spring and summer. For daffodils and tulips, for the grass to become green and the trees to bud and flower. I have a feeling I am still going to face a few more weeks of snow and ice and the need to modify work schedules due to slippery roads and school delays.
I also find this time of year difficult because of sickness and germs. I am sick now with an upper respiratory infection and horrible cough. I pray I don’t pass it on to my kids as life becomes even more challenging when I am sick and then I need to take care of sick kids. I want to Lysol every surface of my home, ban other children from visiting and open the windows and air out the house. Once again, we live in Minnesota. If I would do that, everyone would then catch a cold and be sick. Defeating the purpose of enabling germs to flee the Gavin abode.
My family doesn’t participate in any winter sports. Minnesota is full of winter wonders. Skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, winter hunting. The list goes on. We do not do any of these things. Golfing, swimming, walking and hiking, biking. All of the outdoor physical activities that we enjoy are all during the summer.
I am a Professional Organizer and spend these last couple of weeks before tax day with my clients preparing and finalizing tax packages. And sometimes even doing taxes with clients. I have learned so much over the years about taxes and documentation, and because of it, I have no desire whatsoever to ever want to do our own taxes. We have an amazing accountant who has taken care of everything for us each year for the last 15 years. To not have to think about our own personal taxes is a breath of fresh air. I watch many of clients worry, toil, cry, give up and ultimately become next to impossible to deal with during tax season. My eyes end up hurting, I then struggle with blurry vision and I am burdened with a confused mind from too much information ingested when working on taxes with my clients. I can’t even pretend that I want to continue doing taxes in any form, ever again.
April 17th will arrive, sooner or later. Most of the snow should be gone. Almost every client will have been diligent and completed their taxes or forwarded them to their accountant of choice. Flowers will be pretending to make an appearance and spring may be just around the corner. A walk in my shirt sleeves may have already taken place. Lily will have had her bike removed from the garage ceiling hooks for a couple of weeks, the tires pumped full of air and she will have found her daily bike riding groove, a swift circle or 12 around the neighborhood. And requests for outdoor playtime will increase. The shut ins that my children have become over the winter months will emerge from the dark recesses of the basement playroom and they will entertain the idea of playing for extended times outside.
These are the signs of spring.
These are the signs I wait for.
These are the signs that inspire me.
I love spring. But I love summer even more. Hot days, cooler nights. Swimming and bonfires. Dinners on the deck with friends and family. Relaxed bedtimes and late evening walks before the mosquitoes emerge with a vengeance. Outdoor concerts and farmers markets. Garage Sales. Oh, how I have missed garage sales. Vacations to Wisconsin, up North and to Grandma’s cabin. This is what I am waiting for.
Until then, I will locate another Kleenex box, make sure we are stocked up on cough drops and night time cough medicines, and continue Lysoling every reachable surface. The glimmer of hope that warmer days are on the horizon is all I need to know that this Minnesota eternal winter will eventually end. It is said that...All good things must come to an end. Well, in Minnesota, we say - Believe it or not, this Minnesota Winter will end. - Mostly we say this because most of us need a reminder that it is actually true.
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