Spring Fever

For the past two days, a steady snow/rain drizzle has settled over the city, and the semi-warm, moist weather is getting me anxious for spring. It's been a long winter, and I'm ready to get out of the house. During this time of year, I always start to long for bright, sunny days full of chasing my children in the park and working in the yard. Of course, in practice, this doesn't always happen. But for me, even more so than the first of a new year, the beginning of spring signals a time for growth, change, and resolution.

My children, of course, are starting to share in my anxiousness to experience fresh air and sunshine again. The rumblings of restlessness started a few weeks ago, and now that we're occasionally able to venture outdoors for good lengths of time, it's getting worse. They're bouncing off the walls (and off of each other), and it's adding to my strong desire to get out of the house.

My plans for this year's springtime rebirth are twofold this year: truly dedicating myself to a successful garden, and truly engaging my two rowdy youngsters. It's time to get dirty as a family and inspire a love for the outdoors that will hopefully last them a lifetime. Our world is changing--and in many ways deteriorating--from our lack of respect for its resources. I'd like to impart this revelation to my children now so that their lives will be naturally molded to help counteract at least some of these ecological tragedies.

I'm hoping to truly engage my children in our outdoor adventures this spring. They are both getting old enough to understand and contribute to the gardening chores, and I can't think of a better way to sow a little bit of learning in with the dirt they love to play in. (Besides, with a brand new baby on my hip, I'm going to need all the help I can get!)

Here's to springtime, and my sincere hope that she wastes no time in arriving this year. This spring, we're planting seeds of change in our hearts along with the carrots in our garden.

Thinking about starting a garden of your own this year? This article inspired me, and led me to Root Simple and the blog authors' first book, The Urban Homestead. They've got some mighty extreme ideas about gardening and living a self-sustaining lifestyle, but don't feel like you need to tear out your entire lawn and buy a chicken coop. Just view it as a little friendly inspiration (and a lot of great advice) to help you figure out what works for you!