The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Finally, weather that makes the neighborhood come alive! Friday evening it had warmed up to over 50 degrees and it was time to get outside! Riley was the first to disappear outdoors, soon followed by Shannon and Corey. Corey insisted on a winter coat and hat, which is great because for the last five years we had been unable to convince him to even wear a hat in the coldest of weather.


The boy's best girl, Anna, was outside already, and that's all it took. They began by dismantling the remaining snow piles and soon moved on to dragging all of their riding toys out. Just like every summer, more kids piled out of their houses and toys and building materials littered the yard, waiting for me to pick them up. Cardboard for signs: check! Scrap wood, mallets and hammers to build with: check! Buckets for imaginary mailboxes and rock transport: check! Kids with scraped knees or elbows from wiping out on bicycles or scooters in the driveway: check! I just love it! Of course this year all the play time was monitored by mom yelling, "Everybody stay out of the side-yard, it's full of doggie poo," but other than that, same as it ever was!


We were outside for over an hour and the sun began going down. That, at the Herubin household, means invite everyone inside and raid the kitchen. Of course, there were even more kids outside by this time so in they came. What a change (a welcome one, at that,) to have a house full of kids after a long and cold winter. Everybody around here goes into seclusion after Halloween so Spring is really a big awakening. The boys showed off their 'new' playroom, forts were made, and then for some reason, they all gathered around the computer like the boys had been doing all winter. The boys showed off their favorite websites and Corey explained his favorite signs that he'd discovered on Google Images.



Of course, with all the excitement we had to extend bedtime an extra hour and then remind the boys that yes, they are still required to escort their best girl home at the end of the day. Riley volunteered but I'm sure that was just to get a few more 'outside' minutes. This is the best time of the year; warmer weather, my 'February-funk' lifting, and the boys have plenty of time before they get tired of being outside. I can finally see the light at the end of this long dark tunnel called winter and I am so excited!