Spring has sprung!

I’m so excited about it finally being gardening season! Tomorrow is the Gardener’s Gathering at Northeastern. I’m always surprised by spring; it seems like winter is never going to end, then suddenly it’s spring and I haven’t started my seeds yet. It was especially bad this year, with all the snow we’ve gotten. This time last year, when the temperatures were in the 70s, I had planted my peas already (I’ve gotten the alliterative mneumoics down: plant peas on St. Patrick’s Day, and taxes and tomatoes). Last weekend, I finally ordered some seeds and plants and sent my garden renewal in (for my plot at Fenway Victory Gardens). I requested a second plot, but I doubt I’ll get it because those are supposed to be reserved for people who served on the board. Kristen, the current president, suggested I write on the renewal that I’ve worked on the newsletter for the past several years. We’ll see if that makes a difference. Astrid was the one who wanted a second plot. She said she wants space for her own garden, where she can dig in the dirt or just play, and she knows there’s no room in our space for that. If I don’t get a second plot, I don’t know where I’m going to put everything I bought. As always, my eyes are bigger than my garden. I spent a small fortune on beans, peas, cucumbers, basil, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, and cosmos, and a beauty berry bush (pictured above). On top of all the seeds left over from last year. And, of course, the plants already in the garden.

The Good Luck Ball

Astrid came up to me with a piece of paper and said, “Write down everything that makes you happy!” So I wrote: “Astrid, Eliot, my garden, cats, being creative...” “You should write ‘sleeping!’” she interjected. So I wrote, “...sleeping, reading...” “OK, now crumple it into a ball.” I did. “That’s your good luck ball. Whenever you’re feeling bad, just squeeze it and all the good things will travel up your arm into your heart and you’ll feel better!” “How did you think of that?” “Well, I was writing a list of things I like and I made a mistake, so I crumpled it up and threw it out. Then I thought, ‘I should do something else with it instead of throwing it out,’ so I thought of the good luck ball!”

"I’m having the time of my life here!"

Friday we woke up to a LOT of snow falling, but Boston Public Schools, for some inexplicable reason, did not call  a snow day, so Eliot and I did. Astrid’s had a cold all week and the thought of her going out in that mess just didn’t make sense. She was supposed to have her Poetry Cafe that afternoon, but we figured her teacher would probably postpone it, which she did. I was all set to go in to work, but Eliot talked me out of it. Astrid stayed in her jammies all day. I worked from home at the table; in the afternoon Eliot and Astrid sat on the couch while he read a few chapters of Little House in the Big Woods. So we had a cozy day together while the snow swirled outside.

On Saturday, which was clear and sunny, in a seemingly knee-jerk reaction to the previous day’s decision, Astrid’s school cancelled MCAS Bootcamp, so we went out to breakfast at the Watertown Diner instead. The snow was piled up on the sidewalk, so I let Eliot out of the car before parking. Astrid, of course, wanted to get out on the side of the car that was up against the snow and fussed about getting out on my side. She and Eliot started walking up the street to the diner and I kept pushing the lock button on my car key and nothing was happening. I went in the car and manually locked all the doors except the driver’s door wouldn’t lock. I couldn’t believe my 2-week-old car was malfunctioning. I called Eliot and Astrid back and told them what was happening. We decided to go straight to the dealer and figure this out, so we all got back in the car and I started driving. Astrid said, “what’s that light for?” The “door open” light was on. Apparently when she was fussing earlier, Astrid had opened the door to get out on the other side where the snow was and my car couldn’t lock the doors with a door open. I was so relieved that 1) my new car wasn’t broken and 2) we didn’t drive all the way to the dealer to be told our door was open. Duh!

After breakfast we dropped Eliot off at home and then Astrid and I went to Michaels where we spent more than two hours picking out beads (spoiler alert! ) to make a necklace for my niece’s birthday. At one point Eliot called to find out where we were and I had to say “Uh, we’re still at Michaels.” Then we came home and went back out again so Astrid could go sledding. The snow was melting rapidly, but we found one section where there was enough snow and a bit of a hill. Eliot was getting cold and I had to go to the bathroom, so I told her “Two more times, then we’re going.” She said, “Really? I’m having the time of my life here, you know!” Good Lord! How could we make her leave after that? My sweetie pie.

It’s All Too Fast

So this afternoon was Astrid’s second swim class and it seems to be going well. She’s excited about going and likes her teacher. There are only two other kids in her group, so she’s getting lots of attention, which is what I had hoped. It’s hard to see what’s going on, however. There’s one tiny room upstairs overlooking the pool for parents to watch from. There are 10 folding chairs and room for about only 8 of them, and every time I’ve gone up there, all the chairs are filled. I’ve stood in the doorway, trying to peer around to see Astrid through the window. All the other moms seem to know each other and I overheard a conversation about various summer sleep-away camps. This one mom signed up her 7-year-old at a camp for 7 weeks. I was floored. I’m all for instilling independence, but that’s practically the whole summer! Eliot and I have been watching old movies of Astrid, especially this one he put up on Facebook from when she was almost three and wanted a bike. It’s so sweet, with her high, little voice and wispy hair. Her childhood is hurtling past and I can’t imagine missing out on a couple months of it.

I had a doctor’s appointment today. It was one of my New Year’s Resolutions, to get a mammogram and a physical.  We spent a lot of the time talking about menopause. Holy fucking shit. It was bad enough a couple years ago when I had pain in my hand and was diagnosed with arthritis. I could tell myself I was too young to have something like that. (Although I said, “But my grandma had arthritis” and my doctor replied, “No, you have arthritis.”) Anyway, it’s all going by too fast. Who said that quote about getting older means having breakfast every 15 minutes? It’s true.