I Am Some Kinda Ready.....

I am so ready to smell dirt. To see flowers. To cut grass. To trim bushes. And hear Spring rain.

I am so ready to plant flower bulbs. On my knees. Til they are sore. I want to see Watermelon Caliduims sprouting up all through my yard. Crepe Mrytles blooming. Lantana taking over my flower beds. In colors of orange, red and yellow. I want water in my bird bathes and birds flocking to splash. I want empty bird feeders, by squirrel or by bird.  I just want to see activity. Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Humming Birds galore. Spring activity.

I'm ready to get up at 5:30am on a Saturday morning. To go fishing. To wet a hook. To bring the Big Daddy of all Big Daddy's home. In our cooler. I'm ready to freeze to death on the early Spring mornings. And come out of my sweat coat at the first sign of heat. I'm ready to smell the lake water that smells better than any perfume I can imagine. I'm ready to eat Vienna Sausages out of the can and drink water out of a bottle. I'm ready for green worms in a cup and crickets in a screen bucket. I'm ready for sunscreen SPF 50 in a spray can for the sizzling hot afternoons. I'm ready for dark sunglasses and floppy fishing hats. I'm ready to beg Mims to drive fast. As fast as the boat will go. Skipping across the lake, while I lean over, draping my arms and hands in the water. To cool off my body that feels as if it surely must be on fire.

I'm ready for grills that roll smoke on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Fish cookers that fry up grease hotter than the boiling sun. I'm ready to see the Lawn Rangers. Matt and Zach. Flowing in and out of my house, smelling like boys.  I'm ready for summer night music jams in the Man Shed. For jamming guitars and banging drums. For ping pong tables being ruled by boys and paddles.



I'm ready to holler, "SHUT THAT DOOR, WE'RE NOT COOLING ALL OF QUINCY."  I'm ready to fuss about smelly feet and dirty hands sitting down at my table to eat. I'm ready to hold my nose as I walk through the house looking for stinky tennis shoes that smell like death itself.

I'm ready for Spring and Summer and everything it brings. In about three weeks, Zach will be able to drive alone. He will be sixteen years old. I am ready to no longer cart him around. I am not ready for the additional worry.  I am ready to watch him have the summer of his life. His first summer of real freedom. His first real summer of trying to make all the right decisions.



But mostly, I am ready to sit on my front porch. In the glider. And watch the sunrise and the sunset. With Mims. To either sit quietly, because we can, and it's comfortable. Or make small talk about our day. To talk about everything and nothing. To sit in peace. Together. Side by side. Watching the seasons revolve around one more time.

copyright © 2011 Michelle Mount Mims