Welcome Spring

Daffodowndilly

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
"Winter is dead."

- A.A. Milne

I used to be a tulip girl. No question. But this spring I'm totally smitten by the daffodils - so cheerful and unapologetic, bursting yellow and happy. Harbingers of warm, good things to come.

Sunday night we gathered, an even dozen of us. We welcomed Spring. We did it with daffodils, and sprays of spring blossoms gathered from neighborhood trees, maple glazed ham, potatoes swaddled in cream, butter and cheese, spinach salad, warm rolls, beautiful berries dolloped with cream, and lemon cake for dessert - it was all as delicious and fragrant and wonderful as Spring herself. I loved filling two tables with guests; I loved their contributions to the meal. We visited about sundry things as late afternoon sun poured in through the front windows. If it had been just our family I would have read something - a poem (Daffodowndilly, perhaps) or an excerpt of inspiration, but I felt a little sheepish in mixed company. Still, I like the idea of entering a new season with new purpose, and taking an evening to be deliberate about it.

Winter brought lots wonderful things for our family, plenty to rejoice in and be thankful for. But it also brought a lot of rain and low hanging clouds, the oppression of tax season (my husband is an accountant), and some doldrums (as can be expected when January fades bleakly into February with more damp grey and chill). In some ways, I feel like we need to shake off the winter stupor and rededicate ourselves to the life we imagined. So once April 15th is in our rear view, we're going to take some cues from Spring and have a family pow wow about renewal and fresh starts. I think I'd like to make it a tradition to welcome this lovely time of year with a proper dinner and an evening of discussion about beginning anew - heaven knows we've all forgotten about our New Year's Resolutions.

Welcome, Spring!

p.s. you want to make that lemon cake for your Welcome Spring dinner. Trust me. Recipe here.