Earlier this week although it was still February, I declared it Spring. I had my first whiff of blooming mountain laurels; I’ve seen pictures of bluebonnets on Facebook; the lemon tree is in full bloom; and we’ve been walking in shorts and t-shirts for three weeks. Why we’ve even been sleeping with the door open to the deck for the last month –seemed like spring to me.
So I did what I always do – I “springed up” our house. I put away the pumpkin spice oils that I could hardly wait to get out last September and went through the house like Jehu went through Israel. Starting in our master bedroom, I snatched off the red and gold comforter and gave it a good shaking like a matador, took down the autumn curtains and accessories and stuffed them all in a big rubber tub. Now the room is in yellow, white and blue –reminds me of the ocean.
Then I headed to the guest bedroom – same song, second verse. Now it smells like a rose garden, and our guests will bask in spring green and pink. Next stop was the room where we live to replace slip covers and pillows, and now the room looks like an Easter bunny on steroids visited the Nichols house – baskets of chocolate eggs, marble eggs, crocheted eggs and paper maché eggs on every horizontal surface.
With jasmine replacing the smell of pumpkin spice and Fall packed away until next September, I slept like a baby under my light, white matelassé coverlet until the sound of wind chimes and the feel of a north wind woke me about 4:00am this morning. So much for my declaration of Spring. It was thirty six degrees at daylight.
It was a gentle, yet “cool” reminder that I might declare whatever I’d like, but I’m not the one in charge. It is the One who made the seasons and set His laws of nature into place that decides when the North wind blows and when the spring showers appear. So I think I’ll wait until the hummingbirds arrive before I plant the herbs and tomatoes.
Meantime, I’ll keep an extra quilt at the foot of the bed, and under the watchful care of the WorldMaker, I’ll go to sleep with the fragrance of jasmine bringing sweet dreams of summer nights.
