“Spring is the time of year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade.”
– Charles Dickens –

Here is a list of my favorite things about Midwestern Spring which I never in a million years believed I’d ever miss when I first moved to Florida in 2011. Now that we’ve been back in Illinois for just over a year, it’s safe to say that this is an accurate list:

• Daffodils
• Porch parties that start as soon as it’s tolerable outside, even if you need to wear gloves to keep your hands from freezing to the shape of your beverage
• That fresh, new scent in the air, I always think of it as a mix of wet earth, fresh blossoms and sunshine
• Crocuses
• Straining to find the first Robin Red-Breast to indicate the season is finally upon us
• That green tinge that takes over everything, inch by inch, starting with the grass, and moving into the tips of the tree branches, and trunk-wards
• Tulips
• Eastern redbud blossoms exploding purple into the mix. We’re so lucky to have one right in front of our house!
• Thunderstorms (Noodles does NOT agree with this one, he’d probably classify this within the top 5 on his list of the “Worst Things Ever Of All Time”)
• Magnolia blossoms that scent the air with an almost sickening sweetness incomparable to any artificial “Magnolia” product (like candles, lotion, etc.) I’ve ever experienced
• Lighter jackets
• Galoshes instead of winter boots
• Earthworms on the outdoor basketball courts and sidewalks after a rain
• Nesting songbirds
• Longer days to enjoy the sunshine
• People that seem to come from the sun, because I’m quite certain there weren’t this many people in the world all winter long, so it’s the only logical explanation

Now if only we could steady this rise in temperature and not have a snowstorm every weekend now that it’s April! ❤