A Friday in March

My granddaughter took a  nap at noon today.
I got so excited I almost wet my pants. Oh, wait. No. That's just menopause.
Seriously, I wish I had something to write about.
I've got all this free time and not a damn thing to say.

I will say this-
This little 3 year old grandchild of mine is a ball of fire. Man alive is she a pistol!
From crossing the street to making herself lunch to setting up her play kitchen to putting on her snow boots to brushing her teeth to turning off the TV to closing the door to wanting to put on her own seat belt...I am exhausted from fighting with her ABOUT EVERYTHING!!!
I DO IT she screams at me.

She. Is. 3.
Three.
And not even really 3 yet! Her birthday is on Monday the 7th.

So her taking a nap in the middle of the day is a lovely little gift and I Thank You Jesus for that!

Winter is winding down here in Illinois. Keep your fingers crossed.
We usually get one more big storm before we're really out of the woods!

I am ready for Spring. I think.
I'm done with the snow and the blowing cold wind.
I'm ready for more agreeable temperatures.
I  miss playing outside and riding bikes with the kids and walking around the block.
We all walk to and from school every morning and then again in the afternoon but it's not the same as a meandering walk around the neighborhood, ya know?

My Winter gardens are ugly and I want to see color and flowers and green grass and leaves. And daily sunshine.
Don't get me wrong...I am grateful for the slow down of the winter season.
Staying inside and being cozy and eating hardy foods...I get it. I'm blessed.
I just want warmer weather. A little bit warmer. Not too warm.
Y'all know I'm going to bitch about that Summer heat though, right?

Good Lord but you'd think I'd stop complaining so much if I'm going to keep telling you all how blessed I truly am.

Spring time is when I really notice the presence of God. All things new and all that.
It's so true, though, isn't it?
The way the sunshine makes a body feel.
The new growth on the trees; the unfolding of the leaves and buds.
Plants just starting to push up threw the ground, the feel of the Earth and the smell of rain.
It's heady stuff to me.
It makes me want to reach for more; more color, more air, more life.
And speaking of more life we are going to be grandparents again come October.
More life indeed!

The granddaughter is stirring...time for me to go.
Here's a Spring poem from my favorite poet Ted Loder titled-
Be with me in my unfolding

It is spring, Lord.
And the land is coming up green again,
Unfolding
Outside my well-drawn boundaries
And urgent schedules.

And there is the mystery
And the smile of it.
The willows are dripping honey color into the rivers,
And the mother birds are busy in manger nests,
And I am learning again
That "for everything there is a season
And a time for every matter under heaven."
O Lord, you have sketched the lines of spring.
Be with me in my unfolding.

It is spring, Lord,
And my blood runs warm with the song of the sap,
Longing
For a beauty I would become.
And there is the mystery
And the smile of it.
The buds are swelling on the bush,
The sun is beginning to coax the color
From where it's been curled against the cold,
The air is sweet to the nostrils;
Even the city seems to be rubbing its eyes
From a long sleep;

And there is a promise in the season
I know no name for
Except life.
O Lord, you have sketched the lines of spring.
Be with me in my longing.

It is spring, Lord,
And something stirs in me,
Reaching, stretching
Groping for words,
Peeking through my defenses,
Beckoning in my laughter,
Riding on past my fears,
Pulsing in my music.

And there is the mystery
And the smile of it.
Be with me in my reaching
So I will touch or be touched,
This time,
By a grace, a warmth, a light,
To unfold my life to a new beginning,
A fresh budding,
A spring within as well as around me.
O Lord, you have sketched the lines of spring.
Be with me in my reaching.