April Showers Bring May Flowers

I know that the saying goes "April Showers Bring May Flowers"... but why does it feel like it's raining more in this month than it did last month?

Springtime always makes me want to surround myself with fresh flowers. I wish I could go into the park by me and just pick every single tulip and daffodil that I can get my hands on and put them in vases all around my home. Wouldn't that be beautiful?

Tomorrow I'm going on a field trip with my son to Central Park. It's supposed to be sunny and warm - and I'm so excited! The class is going bird watching. We're going to be on the lookout for robins, sparrows, cardinals, swallows and blue jays. We might even get a glimpse of a peregrine falcon! It's going to be fun because the only birds that we see on a regular basis are pigeons.

It's funny, I feel like I've been stuck indoors all winter, and now I seem to be going to Central Park every few days. I love it!

Sunday in the Park

Life doesn't get any better than a perfect Spring Day in Central Park.

My mom was in town and after a whirlwind weekend of seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway, a birthday party celebration, back-to-back baseball games, etc...we were finally able to kick back and relax!

Once in the park, we tossed baseballs, chased birds, floated in a row boat and my favorite... took a nap in the sun! Central Park is an oasis for city dwellers. I leave after most visits with a renewed sense of being.

We all tumbled home on the subway...all happy, hungry and EXHAUSTED!

Springtime is in the Air!

I love this time of year because it always makes me feel like I'm a kid again.

Each spring when I was younger, my family would always devote an entire weekend to planting new flowers and getting our gardens ready for spring and summer. It was so much fun because we got to put on old clothing and play in the dirt! My dad would walk around with his wheelbarrow full of fresh, new dirt, and my mom would carry around trays of seed packets and flower pots, but I had the most important job.

I was in charge of digging rows of holes for each flower, and then gently dropping them in. I knew that my job was vital to the appearance of the garden because if I dug the hole too deep, the flower would disappear into it, and if I dug it too shallow, the flower wouldn't be able to take root and grow. I took my job very seriously, and carefully dug rows of identical holes with my own blue-handled shovel.

I can still remember how great it felt to dig in the dirt and be in charge of the flowers. I remember laying in the sun after we had finished planting, laughing with my family and drinking lemonade. I also remember the pride I felt as the season went on, knowing that our garden was so beautiful and colorful because of me.

Hmm. Now it's less of a question of how to dig in the dirt with my boys but where? New Yorkers have precious little space to devote to making mud pies!