Spring Fever

I feel a little tickle here and there...and I groan inside. I try to fight it, but I feel it getting stronger and stronger. No, it isn't the latest flu bug that everyone has been experiencing. It's spring fever! It goes like this...

As I walk into our bedroom to put away laundry, I think to myself, "I should really move the furniture in this room! And, I really need to clean up the little nook that leads to our balcony. Oh! And wouldn't it be nice to put a little 2 cup coffee maker with a little basket of hot chocolate right next to the chaise on the balcony! Oh! Oh! And, wouldn't it be great to put a basket with all my favorite magazines that I don't get a chance to read, and of course I could have my Bible there too!!"

No! Resist! It's not time yet! So...I head back downstairs and I pass the dining room. As I look at my dining room, I think to myself, "I really need to recover those dining room chairs. Oh! Wouldn't it be cute to SEW some chair covers? Oh! Oh! I could sew a different set for EACH SEASON!! Then, I could change them out 4 times a year!!"

Then I come to my senses. I DON'T SEW!! What am I thinking? I can only sew patterns that require no curves!

So, I go back to the laundry room, and I think to myself, "These cabinets really need shelf paper. Why don't I just pull out all the stuff in all these cabinets and give them a really good cleaning?" Of course, we're still trying to get schoolwork done, and I have people coming over for dinner. I resist and move on. Yes, in my excitement to finally be in our new home, I was too impatient to go get more shelf paper when I ran out. I thought I'd just get it the next time I was at WM and would install it the next week. That was 5 years ago! Oh well...who cares?

Then, I'm putting some of the kids' books away and I happen to look down at the carpet in front of the fireplace. We have a huge rug in front of the fireplace and I begin to think... "I wonder what the carpet looks like under this rug.
OH. MY. GOSH! The carpet under the rug is a nice cream with grey flecks. The carpet in the rest of the room is grey. UGH!!! Time to clean the carpets. I must resist! I just don't have time! So, I put the rug back down. The outline of the rug is so stark, it looks like the last piece of a puzzle.

And what about the garden! It's taken me 30-some years to finally come to the conclusion...I HATE TO GARDEN!! I like being IN a garden, LOOKING at a garden, eating food FROM a garden, getting flowers FROM a garden...but I don't like weeding, sweating, bending over, getting my nails dirty... well, you get the idea. But, every year I get the urge to plant and I have grand ideas for a beautiful, lush oasis of flowers, shrubbery, butterflies, and birds. Well, this year is no different. I was actually looking at a seed catalog the other night!

What's wrong with me? I don't usually get so itchy for spring. Everything is so gray...I just want some color. I was reading my friend Wendy's blog and she was talking about creativity and our need for beauty. I agree with her. I think God put in us ladies a desire for peaceful loveliness. My hubby couldn't care less about the cute, little towels in the powder room, or the pretty pillows on the bed, or the romantic lampshade that gives such a nice glow on a cold evening. I really like the little touches. Well, I feel like things are in a rut. I want to change things up...everything feels cramped, and dingy, and stuffy. I want to make things feel new and...springy! So, I'm trying to resist. I just don't have the time right now, and I know my feelings are caused as much by the weather as anything. I try not to leave unfinished projects all around because they make me feel guilty. So, I started a "Peaceful Loveliness" list. Maybe I can do something during spring break and then save the rest for summer. People often ask me if we school year-round. Are you kidding? I need the break. We do fun stuff, and we always are reading, but nothing structured. I love to make my list, check it twice, then have the adrenaline high of crossing off stuff. I love that! So, I'm trying to keep from getting too distracted. Come quickly spring!!