I love the Spring. I would never complain about this glorious season. Not me! Haven’t I spent the last week singing it’s praises?
As much as I love this time of year, there are just a few things that make Spring time a little less-than-perfect.
1 – Allergies. I sneeze. My nose runs. My eyes water. If I take allergy medicines, I turn into a zombie who calls fruit punch cheesecake juice. I could close off my house to the outside elements and use the air conditioner from March to October, but I simply love keeping the windows open and the fresh air coming in. So I suffer through the Spring allergy season.
2 – Daylight Savings Time. Need I say more, really? First, I lose an hour of sleep. And then for weeks after my kids don’t feel tired at bedtime and insist on reminding me that “It’s not dark yet, Mommy! It’s not bedtime!” If I’m going to have to go through a time adjustment, please let me do it after flying to visit my mom, and not in the middle of the kids’ school year.
3 – Ants. They’re back already. No longer can we leave an innocent Cheerio on the floor. One of the kids asked today how the ants could smell food that well. They’re just good at it, I guess. During Church, AJ drew a picture of a pretty Spring flower and green grass. Then he colored the bottom of the page brown (the dirt under the grass, of course) and filled the dirt with little black ants. He’s a smart kid. Soon the ants will not only be in the dirt outside, but crawling in my upstairs shower and along the window sill in my bedroom. We have strange ants here.
4 – Smell. I love the smell of flowers blooming, even when that smell makes me sneeze, but I cannot stand the smell of kids after they’ve been playing outside. I would never want to discourage my kids from spending their afternoons playing outdoors, but BOY do they stink when I call them back inside! Bath times certainly increase in the Spring.
5 – Clothes. I never know how to dress my kids from week to week during the Spring. In the morning it’s chilly and in the afternoon it’s hot. The kids complain to me about having to carry their coats home after school because they are SO HOT. Poor kids.
6 – The Park. I love the park. I really do. And I love to let my kids play at the park. It used to be that all of my friends and their kids would meet at the park nearly every day after school. Those were the good old days before all of those friends moved away. Now, most days, I sit on a bench while the kids play. I enjoy the change of pace for an hour or so and I force myself to relax and read a book. But most days, I think about all I need to be doing at home. Why is it so hard to step back and relax?
7 – Birds. I love seeing birds outside, but try as we might, we cannot keep birds out of a little vent hole we have in the front of our house. We have covered the hole with mesh wire, but the birds have pulled the covering away. They are determined to come back year after year and have their babies in our vent. So as we are sitting on the toilet in our front bathroom, we can hear birds moving around about our heads. In a month or two our bathroom will smell like a zoo, no matter how clean we keep it. And don’t get me started on the baby birds we’ve had to retrieve out of the vent. And by “we” I mean my husband, of course.
If I made a list of the things that I love about this season, it would be much longer. Warm breezes. Sandals. The sunshine. Flowers. Chirping birds waking me up. Open windows. Tired kids at night. The great pictures that I can get when we’re not cooped up indoors all the time. But like everything else in life, with the blessings come the challenges.
What do you love and hate about the Spring?
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The last couple of years have brought me the unexpected “joy” of seasonal allergies. I spend the month of August with itchy watery eyes that are almost impossible to live with let alone see out of. I totally feel for you.
Also the park is no fun at all. I know my daughter is having fun but I am watching the clock waiting for the moment we can leave.
You are VERY lucky to not have allergies. And, yes, opposite-running kids are a challenge!
Yep–isn’t it funny that there are good smells and bad smells to appreciate in the Spring, but half the time we can’t smell because of allergies!
PS–sorry if you just got this response in your email from Jen. For some reason, when I am logged out of my WP account, I leave comments as Jen!
I love the spring! This one seems especially nice after all that snow this year. :) I hate the park for other reasons besides stinky kids…2 that go everywhere! And I’m lucky to not have allergies.
.-= Safire´s last blog ..Question of the Week: Intuition =-.
I struggle with the same spring issues. The smell and not being able to smell are at the top of the list.Stopping by from SITS!
.-= JDaniel4’s Mom´s last blog ..Shearing or Plucking A Sheep =-.
I’m glad I’m not the only mom who doesn’t always love the park. Like the Spring, I hate a love/hate relationship with the park!
It’s so true. I have noticed that everyone in my family has more energy in the Spring. My allergies peak around May/June. They will be getting much worse, unfortunately.
It’s my favorite, too. I really do love the Spring, but it’s not all perfection.
Good luck with the exterminator! This year looks like it might be a bad ant year for us. :(
Yes, it is a love/hate thing with Spring. But mostly love. :)
Kleenex must love the Spring time. ;)
If it weren’t for the allergies, Spring would be just about perfect.
My most and least favorite thing is going to the parks. I love to see my son run and play. But at the same time, I get kind of bored and start thinking about all of the things I should be doing. Also, the smelly kid thing, especially when they are covered in sun screen and dirt. Ick.
.-= Allison´s last blog ..Is This the End or the Beginning? (SAHM Series) =-.
#6 is the hardest for me too. There always feels like there’s so much to do and so little time that sitting back and just relaxing becomes harder. Like you, I have allergies but mine won’t hit until about late May through early October.
I think each of your issues with spring has very valid points.
On the upside, spring brings a revitalization of lagging energy! Which means a lot of those tasks you have on a day to day basis, you’ll be able to get done faster. Take that extra time you earn and use it towards that “down time” so the “Guilties” don’t eat at you. *Smile*
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It is my favorite season but, with good, there is bad stuff you have to put up with.
My oldest son has HORRIBLE seasonal allergies. I called this morning to get his allergy meds refilled. It’s been really bad the last few days. Hoping that with the rain today it will help a little bit.
I also called an exterminator who is supposed to come out tomorrow. We have a nasty ant problem. Always do in the spring, hopefully this will help.
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I feel the SAME way about Spring! Its a love/hate relationship, isn’t it?
.-= Jess´s last blog ..I Heart Faces: Angles =-.
I hear ya on all these things, especially the allergies. Now excuse me while I go and get a Kleenex.
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Parenting 101 =-.
I am totally with you i love everything about Spring, from the park to the fresh air…but i don’t like allergies!!
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