Cherry tree in full bloom in my neighborhood last spring 2010

IMG_0329, originally uploaded by cindy.juliano.

Just like everybody else around here, I'm feeling a bit of spring fever with this 50+ degree weather. The crusty, gray-ish (ok, black-ish) snow is finally melting and its resulting rivers are pouring down the sides of our street. But most telling that spring is on the way is my eight year old wearing shorts to school today. He said to me after school,  "mom, I was the only third grader in shorts today!" I didn't know whether to share his excitement or feel a little embarrassed that I was the only mom who let their eight year old out the door in still 30 something degree weather this morning to head off to school in shorts. But, hey, these northeastern kids are tough, right? They play outside in much colder weather for hours skating on backyard hockey rinks, so why not give the kid a little freedom to express his "sick of winter" spirit? And as I sit here writing now, at 5:55pm, he's still outside in shorts with his brother and our neighbors playing street hockey. We're all so sick of winter at this point, and even though we had a little relative warmth today, we know we have at least another month of frigid, windy weather before the days really start to warm up. So I'm posting this photo I took last spring of one of the countless cherry trees that adorn Fairfield every spring. I love their fluffy, plump pink blossoms that last for a couple of weeks until the wind kicks in again and blows their petals, like more snow, all over our streets. They are a sure sign that spring has arrived, consistently warm days are fast approaching, and shorts will soon be worn by all to school!