A Rite of Spring

When I think back to the springs of my youth, my thoughts always go back to the neighborhoods I was blessed to live in.  After the long winters, emerging from our homes, to be greeted by the neighborhood kids who'd also been in seclusion, was always welcomed.   Oh, sure!  We'd seen them throughout the winter, but there was something special about the freedom that spring, and nicer weather, brought us.

We didn't have a garage at our home in Lindenwald so the first order of business was for Dad to get the bikes up from the basement.  I can remember the excitement when our bikes were tuned up and ready to go.  "Where would they take us this spring"?  If it was only crossing the street, to explore the other part of our neighborhood, it was spring and life was good.

Roller skating was another mode of springtime transportation.  We didn't have the kind of shoe skates the roller rinks had, of course.  Ours were metal skates that fit over your shoes and could be adjusted to many sizes, as long as you had the key that came with them.  That key assured us that we'd have those skates for a few springs, no matter how much we grew.  I can remember all the cracks and bumps in our neighborhood sidewalks.  Avoiding them was a necessity if we were to remain scrape and bruise-free....no easy task.

Walking definitely made it easier to converse with friends than biking or skating ever did.  And for that reason, it was, and still is, my favorite way of getting around.    Whether it was walking to school, clenching a bouquet of lilacs for the May altar (you're never too young to start getting in good with your teacher, you know...) or walking home from school, loaded down with homework ( a lot of good that sucking up did, huh?)  being outside with school friends and neighbors was what we'd been waiting for.

Seeing folks, out and about in the spring, enjoying everything that this wonderful season has to offer,  takes me back to a much simpler time...and as an old girl who has seen 61 springs,  I never tire of it.  I hope your spring is glorious, too.