Every year when spring comes to Minneapolis, I find myself instantly appreciating the littlest, most seemingly insignificant things so much. This year has proven no different, and I’m basically floating around in a haze of lilacs and fresh air and daydreams on a daily basis.
Speaking of those lilacs…what is it about lilacs in the rain that makes for the absolute best scent ever? Kaitlin and I kept commenting on it on our riverbank walk on Monday. Yesterday I left work in an absolute downpour, sans umbrella, of course, and in a terrible mood over that fact. The office parking lot, however, is bordered by a hundred-yard stretch of lilac bushes, all of which have burst into bloom over the last week or so, and that fragrance alone, tempered by the rain and just completely diffuse in the air, made me slow my pace in spite of the fact that I couldn’t see out of my glasses and my shoes were filling up with water.
I’ve been bitten by the spring cleaning bug HARD this season. Before Kait came to visit, I found myself fighting an uncontrollable urge to really deep-clean my apartment. I spent six hours one Sunday going over the place from top (washing the tops of my cabinets, I’m not even kidding) to bottom (scouring baseboards and washing the floors…twice…), even going so far as to enlist a friend to take apart my dishwasher so I could clean it most effectively. I’ve kept my windows open as often as the weather allows for, and the light and air streaming into an immaculate apartment makes me feel all Martha Stewart-y…in a good way.
My fingernails and toes have been pastel since March, and it’s felt like wishful thinking up until recently. My ballet flats and sandals are replacing my Uggs in the front of my closet, and the floaty skirts have made their glorious reappearance in my weekly work rotation. I’m also the proud owner of a pair of the prettiest petal-pink pants…breaking out the feminine, lightweight clothes has me even more focused on honing in on fitness, too, which is so necessary and so great.
One of my favorite things about my office is that I have a beautiful view of the Mississippi River out my window. All spring I’ve watched the trees on the river, waiting for that first faint flush of green to start creeping into all the gray of the winter landscape. It blows my mind how perceptible those changes actually are, watching the riverbanks come back to life after all the frost and ice vanish. Randomly, weirdly, it seems that every time I look out the window, I see a school bus crossing the High Bridge…bright and yellow, cheerful. Now I’m wondering if, with school letting out soon, my buses will stop crossing the bridge, and even just thinking about that makes me a bit nostalgic in advance for them.
This kind of weather, this change in the seasons, this growth and rejuvenation and starting over…this kind of weather makes me want to fall in love with everything and everyone.