Anybody else ready for Spring?  Yeah, yeah, I hear all you folks snowed in again in the northeast, and I'm sure you don't want to hear a lament from Memphis, where it just keeps raining. But I'm feeling particularly gloomy, so you'll just have to bear with me for a bit.

I always have difficulty with this time of year. In 2000, our only son died of cancer at the end of February, just 10 days short of his 29th birthday.  Most of the time we have learned to cope, but late February and early March are days we just "get through," no matter how busy we keep ourselves.  And this year, what with stubborn politicians, tornadoes, blizzards, floods and drought, a pope who quit and a cardinal admitting his indiscretions, Apple stocks plummeting for no good reason, and all the other worldwide crises, I've had more than my usual trouble finding bright spots. 

Our 18-year-old cat wanders the house wailing in a particularly shrill way, probably because he's going deaf and can't hear himself if he just meows. Our homeowners' association just issued a "new plan" to deal with potential criminal activity in the neighborhood; it involves leaving a note in a sealed envelop in a box outside the clubhouse door --which seems to me to be a particularly ineffective (and potentially dangerous) method of reporting a prowler! I'm trying to help with the printed program for a dinner on Thursday night, but everyone involved keeps making last-minute changes.  I've had two more this morning. I'm also trying to get ready to run a two-day meeting on Friday and Saturday, while people are still fussing about the price of a hotel hamburger lunch. The CEO of our non-profit wants his performance eval done this week but so far has failed to get the correct form to me.  The household pest treatment guy just did his quarterly thing and left me a bill without the amount filled in.  Do you think I get to choose the price?  A commenter on this blog took me to task for failing to do research, all the while revealing that s/he had no experience with the issue s/he was arguing about.

And so my week goes.  Can it really only be Tuesday morning? Why are the juncos still hanging around? I'm ready for robins and bluebirds. Our temperature just dropped within the hour from 61 degrees to 39 degrees and the wind is now whipping around the house.  Aren't our southern trees supposed to be budding out by now, and shouldn't there be daffodils and tulips?

Daylight Savings Time starts this coming Sunday, so the longer days may help. Maybe the world will come to its senses next week?  Or the week after, when we head for Hilton Head for a week of relaxation (except for two book talks and signings)? I definitely need a Spring Break!