Dear Kid,

Spring has arrived in Cincinnati. I know this because

1. It’s warm enough outside to go for a walk without a jacket
2. Stores are showing Spring clothes
3. The crocuses are out!

I love crocuses. Partly because I really like those little guys, but mostly because they chirp “Spring is here!”

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”  ~Robin Williams

Can flowers chirp? I don’t know why not. Writers talking about flowers screaming in bright summer colors, or whispering their final secrets in the fall. I’m good with chirping crocuses.

Earth laughs in flowers. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Pretty soon, not only will we have warm sun and happy crocuses, we’ll have buds on trees, and dinner on the porch, and our lawn will turn from the dead-brown of winter into something lush and green.

And by “something” I mean “weed-filled.”

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers. ~Claude Monet

I know that spring also means allergies and rain and mud and eventually August heat, but right now it’s easy to forget about all that.

And to just smile back at the crocuses.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

It is fall.

I define fall as “I wish I had worn socks to the soccer game.” Dad defines fall as “Get those icicles you call feet off me.”

Some people define fall as “the time when cider comes” or the time of the pumpkin harvest. It is also the time of leaf changing and football and marching bands.

Fall is the time when we can’t find the right jacket because whatever we find will be insufficient for the frost of early morning and far too much for the warmth of the afternoon. Also because we can’t remember where we put the darn thing last spring.

Fall is the time when grocery store shelves explode with Halloween candy and little kids explode with ideas about Halloween costumes. It is the time when some of us begin collecting Really Interesting Recipes for Thanksgiving (most of which will never get made).

Fall is the time when our cheeks get red and we drink hot chocolate and coffee and thaw reasonably quickly. In winter, the thaw will take longer and be much less pleasant.

I need to remember to wear socks to the soccer game on Thursday.

Happy Fall.

Love, Mom