Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Yesterday Would Have Been the Day

It was my own special tradition.  It was something I remember doing every Spring.  I never knew exactly when it would happen, but when the time was right, I would know it.

After spending the winter months bundled up in coats and hats and scarves and mittens, one day invariably as I would walk home from school, I would realize that maybe summer was really on its way.  If I had taken a sweater to school in the morning, on the way home it would have been shed as the sun was finally beginning to take away the wintertime chill and showing the promise of warmer days. 

Upon arriving at home, I would make a beeline to my bedroom, open the bottom dresser drawer, determined to find the summertime clothes that had been put away for the season.  With the hope that Summer really was close at hand, I would change out of my school clothes then head out to the shed to uncover the bicycles.  Finding the bicycle pump was usually necessary too.

Then feeling that irrepressible freedom after the restrictive cold months, I would strike out for a bicycle ride around the neighborhood.  How liberating!  I felt as free as a bird.  It felt so good to stretch my legs and feel the breeze on my skin. 

Yesterday, I know it would have been that special day for me.  The long-absent sunshine beckoned me out for a walk around the neighborhood.  Soon the unexpected warmth made me want to shed my hoodie and find the summer clothes that I haven't touched in months.  If I had had a bicycle, I would have pulled it from the shed too.

My body may be getting older, but it was nice to discover that my soul will always be young.

6 comments:

Outside the Pumpkin Shell said...

I love the memories your blog invokes. I remember the sound the bikes made as I clanked them around, trying to get them untangled from each other, even though they were set up neatly. I remember what the opening of the shed looked like, and bumping my bike out, front wheel, then the back. I remember the way the air felt. Yes, I believe yesterday would have been the day. Thank you Ardith!

Ardith Haws said...

I knew I couldn't be the only one! Thanks for understanding where I am coming from. And you described the shed perfectly.

Maili said...

You described perfectly how I was feeling a couple of weeks ago. It was a warmish, sunny day and my 10-year-old had gotten his bike out of the shed and, after pumping up the tires, was speeding up and down the driveway. I remembered the feeling of freedom and the exhilaration of the fresh air and wished I could be doing the same thing. I think I'll get a bike!!! :)

Ardith Haws said...

Awesome, Maili! This makes me happy.

Kim said...

I remember experiencing nearly the same thing ~ thanks for the fun reminder!

Laura said...

I smiled through this whole post. What a fun memory of a tradition. I remember my roller skates....