Come the Spring (A State of Caprice)

Subtitled: two birds, one stone

Spring grass, there is a dance to be danced for you. Come up, spring grass, if only for young feet. Come up, spring grass, young feet ask you.

(From “Spring Grass” by Carl Sandburg)

I took this photo this morning.

Clearly I have no business doing a post for Dawn’s Early Spring field day!

Except…hang on a minute. I took this photo this afternoon.

Ah yes, it’s springtime in Minnesota.

Look up “caprice” in the dictionary and you will read the following: a tendency to change suddenly and without reason.”

And then there will be a little graphic of Minnesota.

Home is where the heart is, though, and my heart is firmly in Minnesota. That’s why, when I first started leaving comments on other blogs a long, long, time ago—okay, so it hasn’t even been a year yet—I chose as my signature “Margaret in Minnesota.” I wanted to give people a sense of place—a sense of me, really.

I am a Minnesotan girl, through and through.

And this is spring, chez me!

The kids and I read the sweetest little book this week. Are you familiar with Miss Suzy the Squirrel? Oh my goodness, she’s just delightful. When I ran across Miss Suzy by Miriam Young at a church bazaar, I gave a squeal of delight and snatched it up. I hadn’t seen that book since I was a girl, and the memories came upon me like a flood.

A springtime flood, as it were. 🙂

This past March I came across Miss Suzy’s Easter Surprise at the library and gave another little squeal. (Yes, I’m annoying to those around me.) You know how it is, I know, to come across a brand new book (so to speak) starring one of your children’s most beloved protagonists.

I brought it home and quickly set it on my special shelf, the one the children know as the “you touch these books before Momma’s ready and she’ll kill you” shelf because if I didn’t have a special shelf I wouldn’t have the pleasure of reading these books aloud to them.

My kids would gobble them up ahead of time and I’d miss out on their first reaction.

And mine.

So. We read Miss Suzy’s Surprise and to no one’s surprise, it was just as sweet as the first one.

Ahem. And what does this all have to do with spring? (I know Dawn is wondering. She’s just too polite to ask.)

I’ll tell you: it was all in the refrain.

“I’m not fussy,” said Miss Suzy, “But I do like quiet. Thank goodness for my lovely, peaceful oak.”

My heart got all warm & fuzzy. We were snuggled up on the couch—my 4th grader, 2nd grader, 1st grader, preschooler, toddler & me—and the moment was very lovely and peaceful.

“I’m not fussy,” said Miss Suzy, “but I do like to be dry and cozy. Thank goodness for my lovely, leafy oak.”

I knew that when I finished the book we’d go outside. Yes, our early Spring was cold & damp. All the better for coming back in when we had finished—winded, but refreshed.

“I’m not fussy,” said Miss Suzy, “But I couldn’t go to sleep at night if I couldn’t see the stars. Thank goodness, oh thank goodness, for my lovely tall oak.”

I realized at that point that even though the month was April and the weather was cold and snowy, (indeed, it was snowing as we read), that Minnesota is the place I’m meant to be. It’s hard when you’re ready for the winter to be over and the calendar agrees, but in the end….

Well, Minnesota is my lovely tall oak. It’s where I’m meant to be and where I’ve put down the network of roots that keep me grounded.

Minnesota’s…me.

And in the early Spring, when finally it’s green, it’s worth every moment (and month) I’ve waited.