A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood

I love this time of year. The weather has moved on from the cool wintery weather and into the sunny and mild spring. It's this time of year (and the fall) that we really push the critter to get outside - hardly a difficult task. We aren't into the intolerable heat, where you don't dare play outside until 7pm when it cools down a little. Nor is it too cool or rainy this time of year either (typically speaking - I say that, but last year was one of the wettest springs on record).

O and I have been very fortunate to be able to play out of doors these last couple of weeks. Today we took advantage of the sun and went to the park. We had great fun sliding and chasing each other around. We were also very fortunate to make some new friends while we visited the park today. We met a lovely little boy who just happened to be a few months younger than O, his 10 month-old sister, and mother. They just moved to town a month and a half ago from Houston. It was wonderful to make the connection and we're looking forward to future play dates!

Mother, being the ever observant and somewhat critical woman that she is (bless her heart), made a comment while she was here that very few people in our neighbourhood are outside much. She's right and Big Daddy and I had noticed that a bit ago. I don't know if it's because of the way we were all raised, but we find it hard to believe..and well..odd. It has been gorgeous weather here with very few rainy days. I'm no sun bunny but you can't keep me indoors when the weather is nice. The same goes with my family. We loath being inside. Perhaps it has something to do with school still being in. Perhaps other families are too busy. I don't have any clue, but the only other people we see outside are our friends next door. There are lots of kids and young children in our neighbourhood - a few stay-at-home moms too, but you rarely see them outside. To be frank, I'm baffled by this sort of thing. Anyone else out there find it odd?

Feeling particularly inspired today, I think I'm going to share my gratitudes:

Spring - I love this time of year; the buds on the trees, the smell of wet dirt, all the gardening I get to do, and the great weather.

Making New Friends - Once I get over my initial shyness, I love meeting new people. It's lonely sometimes living away from family and the friends I have back in Canada.

Growing up Outside - I was inside to sleep, eat, and go to the bathroom (all if I was made to), otherwise I lived outside. I spent hours and hours and hours playing outside with the neighbourhood kids. I LIVED for those times. Even vacations when I was younger, was planned around being outdoors. We hiked, camped, canoed, fished, and swam. When we weren't goofing off outside then we were riding our bikes or playing sports like soft ball and soccer. Even in the winter we were outside. Back in the day we had fantastic snow falls which of course made for great sledding, snow ball fights, snow forts, skiing (down hill and cross country), skating. Again..you name it, we did it ALL outside.

O Having Good Days - The critter has been having some real good days here. His moods have been tolerable..pretty good even and it's made for some much more pleasant time spent together. The screaming and crying has been at a minimum and Big Daddy and I are both pumped about that.

My Grandparents - While all dead and gone now, I'm grateful for the love, nurturing, and life lessons they gave to me while they were alive. My Mama's Father and my Father's Mama, along with my two great-grandmas on my Mama's side were all that I ever really knew. They were great people and I miss them dearly. My love and support goes out to my brother-in-law, Yo, who lost his grandaddy yesterday.