Sometimes, Rainbows

The semester isn't over yet, but it's getting close. My classes end Monday. My daughter sent her senior honors thesis to the printer last week. She has a few papers left to write; she is working on one now, settled on the other end of the comfy couch with her laptop. Boy in Black says he has five finals and a 15-page paper about dark matter; right now he's sitting on the floor playing cards with With-a-Why, Shaggy Hair Boy, Philosophical Boy, and Pirate Boy.

This morning, I could feel the sun on my bare arms as I began picking up tree limbs that had fallen on the lawn over the winter. Shaggy Hair Boy helped me knock down a Scotch Pine that had been leaning precariously all winter, and Boy in Black helped me drag it off the lawn and into the woods. The grass is greening up, and yellow dandelions are popping up everywhere. Inspired by the sunshine, I made a big fruit salad, cutting up a whole watermelon and several cantelopes, adding bunches of grapes and quarts of fresh berries.

Temperatures soared this afternoon, getting so warm that when I stopped to watch the Ultimate Frisbee game that Boy in Black had set up, the players were all complaining about the heat. "The air is so thick," Blonde Niece said as she flopped to the ground.

I took my car into the garage to have the snow tires removed and decided it was time to pack away the mittens and snowpants in our laundry room, despite a forecast that says we might get snow later this week. Late in the afternoon, the Ultimate players crowded into the living room, joking around and eating fruit salad. By this evening, the rain had begun, but it's still warm enough that the window behind me is open. The smell of mud drifts in on the night air, and the raindrops are a backdrop to the teasing, lazy chatter of my kids and extras as they lounge on the floor, engrossed in card game.

It's beginning to feel like summer.



Blonde Niece and With-a-Why take a break during this afternoon's game of Ultimate Frisbee.