***I’m not sure why this didn’t post last week, when I wrote it, but here it is now.***

I called my mom on the way home from work yesterday.  That’s really my only quiet time of the day.  Once I’m home, it’s all over.  The kids need help with homework.  Dinner needs to be made, and there are a gazillion places to get everyone (usually at the exact same time).  So, calling my mom on the way home from work is the only time I get to chitchat.

I think we were both feeling really sorry for ourselves.  The snow-rain-snow mixture hadn’t stopped all day.  It was cold, wet, slushy, and yucky out.  The conversation turned to how excited we were to get out in the yard again, once the rain stopped. 

We talked about how much longer to wait to plant the sweet peas.

We talked about how nice it will be to just spend a warm day in the yard.

We talked about how pretty her yard is in the summer, and how she wasn’t going to have any plants in her yard.  She wanted a low maintenance yard, but couldn’t stand to not have a garden.  The desire to grow and garden won out.

There were long sighs, thinking about how nice it will be when it finally stops raining. 

We talked about how important it is for kids to experience growing plants, planting a garden, and taking the time to care for something other than themselves.  We talked about the fun of Harvest Day and the delight on the kids’ faces. 

I can’t wait for my kids to run through the yard again.

I got home from work and looked out on my lifeless yard, wishing for Spring.  Then, I looked in my mail pile!  My new Country Gardens Magazine had arrived!  The day my Country Gardens Magazine shows up is like going to the mailbox and finding a Pottery Barn catalog and a Ballard Designs catalog on the exact same day.  It’s like hitting the mailman jackpot!  That’s how I feel about Country Gardens.  My mom feels the same way. 

No more winter blues.  We’ll just get lost in the pages for a while.