spring fever - memoirs of an extinct childhood

Winter is a rough time for a kid who's growing up on a farm. After spending the spring, summer and fall playing outdoors, having all kinds of adventures, to be forced inside for a few months is tortuous.

Oh sure, you can still go out and enjoy the winter sports, but cold is cold, whether you're having fun in it or not - and sooner or later, the cold wins out!

I remember just longing for spring to arrive. We'd start heading outdoors and trying to force spring. If it was a sunny day, we'd "suntan" in the wheelbarrow, with snow on the ground all around. As soon as the snow started to melt and the water was running, we'd be out in the yard, wading around in our rubber boots, building damns and troughs for the spring melt.

We'd dare ourselves to go wading barefoot through ice cold water and mud.

The lower part of our property would flood in the spring. Sure as anything, we'd be out there paddling around on the flood in a canoe - and as often as not, getting soaked to the skin wading around in the water.

More "prudent" parents would have scolded us and warned us of pneumonia or the cold. Ours knew better, knew that kids will be kids, and let us play. Although I'm sure Mom groaned more than once seeing our dirty, wet clothes coming in to be cleaned!

The bikes were out as soon as possible - or more often before. We'd be peddling around, getting stuck in snowbanks, and sliding off of the narrow paths through the snow that we were trying to bike on. If it really was too early to be biking outside, we'd attempt it in the house or the barn, peddling carefully from one room to another. Although in the house, of course, it was hard to get away with.

We just could not wait for summer. It took felt like it took forever to get there, and we were coaxing it along the whole way!

Then summer would arrive and we'd move on to building forts, exploring, and swimming in cold lakes and rivers. We'd have a tent set up in the yard just as soon as it was dry enough, just so we could sleep outside. We'd build roads and towns in the dirt for our toy cars. We'd wade the creeks, chasing minnows. We'd build hay forts and tree forts. We'd spend the summer outside, romping, exploring and experiencing.

Until eventually fall and winter would come once more, and we'd be forced inside to wait for spring...