Spring Flu

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Today is just a plain ol' rainy day. We are in this cycle of heavy, swollen rains at the beginning of the week that give birth to a gorgeous, golden-blond weekend. When I woke up, I have to admit, I was a little depressed because I was ready to spring into a day of gardening, yard work and outdoor errands. Maybe head to the arboretum or walk the Sundial Bridge. Mother Nature had a different idea. Instead, I have a dog, terrified of loud rain, thunder, winds and, well, weather of any kind except calm and clear, Velcroed to my side.

I had to jack my attitude around. I decided to enjoy these last few days of cool comfort before we head into the hot hell our summers deliver. To enjoy the luxury of a movie, a good book or time spent writing inside without feeling guilty because I should be doing outside activities.

The rain is a good thing...really. Shasta Lake is only a few feet from the top for the first time in years, which means tourism will be up this summer. The Mallards haven't been on the ponds the last couple of days because the water levels evaporated in the weekend heat. But now that they are full again, I just spotted a pair of ducks soaring side-by-side, wings spread wide, overhead getting ready to land.


It is a lazy day full of the smell of moss and rain and wet grass and chicken rice soup. I have this sense of being able to nuzzle my head in the bosom of winter and hide from all the work outside that cries, like a bawling babe, to be done in the light of spring and summer. The same kind of feeling I used to get when I played hooky from school.

Today I am having fun making a fort with blankets and chairs and stringing a Cheerio necklace . Tomorrow I'll worry about forging my mother's signature on the absence slip.

To Whom It May Concern:

Please excuse Ronda from all that weeding, pruning and planting that needs to be done outside. She had the Pretending it Doesn't Exist Flu.

Signed,
Her mother.
People have been known to reach from the grave to pen such things, haven't they?