Welcome Spring!

Warmed by the sun, my bare arms feel free in the fresh spring air, and the heat that builds in my van reminds me of warmer days ahead. A field of daffodils on property next to ours is bursting with yellow blooms. My neighbor girls often rap on our door holding pretty bouquets in front of even prettier proud-to-please-me smiles. What a delightful way to start the season!
One bunch of flowers – left on the porch too long when I wasn’t there to greet the girls – was wilted almost beyond hope. In the spirit of their gift – thinking I might be wasting my time since I could go cut some fresh – I took it inside and put it
in water.
To my surprise, the next day they had sprung to attention just like the last stalks from a celery bunch when I revive them in a glass of water before I use them up. It amazes me how they drink water.
A newspaper tells me that I should consider planting asparagus – and reconsider giving the house a spring cleaning. Asparagus, being a perennial, needs a permanent planting spot. The asparagus patch that I remember when I was a kid was
at the end of one of Mom’s flower beds. The only time I paid much attention to it was after it went to seed. The frond-like shoots became fuzzy little trees that looked
like a fairyland.
I didn’t acquire a taste for asparagus until I grew up, and even now I’m not always in the mood for it; when I am, I appreciate it most if the spears are very young and tender. For now, I’ll settle for a “mess” or two in the spring; and, instead of planting and putting it up, I’ll open a can when I want some.
Now, about that spring cleaning. I’ve read that the hours women spend on housework have decreased from 32 hours a week to 18-19; for men, just under 10 hours a week. It’s a safe bet I fall into the men’s category.
The marathon spring-cleanings of my grandmothers’ day may be obsolete since much of our lifestyle has changed (no coal dust on the curtains, etc.), but I get a new lease on any activity on a warm sunny day. If I’m not tending a garden, I’ll have more time to clean. I’ll begin by tidying my van, then, maybe I’ll step up and tackle cleaning the house.
The next time the neighbor girls come to the door, I’ll accept their bouquets with a proud smile just like theirs, knowing that I have a clean, dust-free place to set a vase.