Spring has Sprung...?

I hesitate to commit to this statement, given the pending 40 degrees and rainy forecast for the Greater Twin Cities. This past weekend, though? Oh my. The sun, the sun, the sun. Never has there been a happier city than Minneapolis on this, the first truly warm, bare-legged, flip-flop wearing day of the year. We have not been sleeveless outside in eight months. Adults and children alike are intoxicated by the radiant glow of the sun, the breeze thoroughly devoid of negative wind chills. Little toes are anxious to dig beneath the playground sand, legs pump higher, higher, higher on recently neglected swings, and the ice cream truck meanders past the park, slowing in order for harried parents to combine their spare pocket change. And my girl, in the spring of her fifth year. She climbs confidently and fearlessly, until I have to squint to keep from losing her amidst the sun and the naked tree branches, a silhouette highlighting the early evening blue. And she digs and digs, just the way her Mama taught her to. Wearing her archaeology bandana, she has discovered big rocks, little rocks, concrete rocks, pottery remnants, a pink bead, and a plastic horse charm. Her treasures. She holds them tight and admires them frequently. I understand. I do the same.