{memo}

To: Californians
From: Kristin
Re: Spring

Sure, you have your year-round summers, your constant sun, your beaches, and decent Mexican food. But you know what you don't have?

Spring.

Spring, really, is amazing. A-maze-ing. You can't appreciate or understand the beauty and glory that is spring unless you've lived it--and unless you've first lived through winter. Maybe the Ohioans don't appreciate it as much as I do--me, a Californiohian of sorts--having experienced it so many times, but it never ceases to enchant me (so far). Let me briefly describe how it goes: Just as you're about to groan from the cold, and the bleakness--of none, zero, not a color in sight--and the gray mood for the hundredth time, you notice the thin shoots of green that have popped up. You wait, every day saying, "Maybe the daffodils will come up today," again. And then they do. Then all of sudden you notice the streets are lined with a breathtaking view of trees full of pink or white blooms. And you bask in the delight of it. Then the tulips come out. Then the dogwoods get their buds. And on and on. It's a fast-paced, don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it time when every day is filled with wonder as your eyes feast on something new. And you see your gray world is suddenly a rainbow.

In a small effort to share this season with you, here's a photo of some of the blooms in our yard: