Gift lists.  Chore lists. Grocery lists.  Party planning lists.  Prayer lists.  Short term to do lists.  Long term to do lists.  You name it and I have a list for it.  I am one of those people that, even when I finish a task that I did not have on my list, I will add it…just for the satisfaction of crossing it off.  Weirdo. 

Lists keep me organized and on track.  They make me much more productive.  However, by the time I get through my self-imposed “to do” list for the day, there is precious little time left over for the fun stuff.   By the time I finish my list, it is either getting cloudy and cold or too dark outside.   (Who am I kidding, I never finish my list.  It just flows over to the next day.)  We had a few beautiful sunny days lately and I did not even get outside to enjoy the first couple of them. This failure at enjoying life, despite the fact that I am retired, prompted me to create a spring “to do” list. It is a list of the things I love about spring and want to make sure I take time to enjoy during this brief season of new growth.  Things I don’t want to miss out on or put off until summer. Maybe I should call it my spring “get to do” list. 

My spring “get to do” list

1.) Get the tires pumped up on my bike after the long winter of sitting in the garage and take my first bike ride of the season.  This requires that we have the little converter thingamajig to use on our air compressor to pump up my bike tires.  And of course, we lost the one from last year, so I had to remember to stop and get one.  And I did not put that on my list… so you know how that goes.  But I finally remembered to pick it up, the very same day that Mr. U also remembered to stop by and get one.  Good thing we have two.  So, I finally took my first bike ride of the year last week.  I rode along the river, swelling from the spring run-off.   I packed a tuna sandwich and enjoyed it while sitting on a rock watching the river rush by.  Loveleee.   

2.) Dust off my kayak and take it out for the first paddle of the year.  There is a fine line between taking your kayak out early in the spring and taking the risk of freezing to death, especially if you tip it.  Worse yet, drowning because you have so many clothes on just to keep warm enough.  I have not unearthed my kayak from the bowels of the shop yet this year.

3.) Sit around a spring slash fire with Mr. U and sip an IPA beer.  That is how we do it around here.   We did this just a little over a week ago.  There is nothing better than the smell of a smokey slash fire, unless you can still smell it in your hair hours later (if you know, you know). We desperately needed to clean up outside before the Easter egg hunt on our property.  It was well worth the clean-up effort, as the kids had a great time scrambling for eggs.  Although I am not sure who had more fun, the hiders or the seekers.    

4.) Go to one of the local Farmer’s Markets at least twice this spring.  It is a feast for the senses:  fresh baked bread, the spicy aroma of paella simmering in an oversized pan, fresh herb starts, homemade crafts and colorful spring flower bouquets.  I always think I will get there and then something comes up. But now it is on my spring “get to do” list, so it is happening. If for no other reason, then I will get to check it off the list.  Unfortunately, because of our precarious spring weather, our farmer’s markets do not open for a few more weeks, so it is still sitting on my list.

5.) Gather some Roadsidea to decorate the house with a touch of spring.  I just did that this week.  My sister and I loaded up the car with a rake and trimmers and headed out to our favorite spot to pick pussy willows.  I can’t tell you where it is or else I would have to kill you (they get picked through all too quickly).  We each got a small bouquet of spring to bring inside. 

6.) Eat my first alfresco meal of the season.  We did this on our trip to Florida but that doesn’t count because this is my list for here at home. Ditto for kayaking and riding bike. We have not eaten outside yet, unless you count the sandwich I took with me on my bike ride.  My sister and I did enjoy a glass of wine outside at a lovely little wine bar as a reward for getting our haul of pussy willows though. 

7.) Find an abandoned bird nest and bring it in to decorate with.  I am obsessed with bird nests.  They are such an amazing feat of nature.  We watch our feathered friends going in and out of a couple bird houses we have on the back patio, mesmerized as they haul sticks, mud, and debris in their awkward little beaks to create a cozy home for their future offspring.   And the nests turn out perfect.  I have my eye on a couple nests out in the bushes, but I want to make sure the birds do not come back to nest in them again this year before I remove them from the branches they are nestled in.  So, I am still waiting to do this one.

8.) Lay out in the sunshine and read.  There are few things as relaxing as reading in the hammock under the filtered sunlight from the tall pines. But I still haven’t mastered the fine art of enjoying reading for pleasure during the middle of the day.  I keep reminding myself that I am retired, and I can give myself permission to do this, but it still feels frivolous.  It could be connected to my whole “to do” list problem, but I blame Mr. U because he has not put the hammock up yet this year. 

9.) Discover some wildflowers.  I remember going out every April and picking a bouquet of wild Easter lilies for my mom for her birthday.  Wildflowers will always remind me of her.  We used to get quite a few wildflowers on our property.  Unfortunately, the deer have eaten most of them.  It would not be a problem if they just trimmed them off, but they pull them up by the roots to eat them, root and all.  So, they are slowly dying off.  The flowers, not the deer.  Although we have considered eliminating a few deer that are always in our yard eating our potted plants and flowers. 

10.) Get the outdoor pizza oven fired up and make the first pizza of the season. We have not used the oven yet this year, but we did get it uncovered and the gathering place is set up. I am looking forward to experimenting with some different pizzas. I also plan to perfect the art of baking bread in the outdoor oven. It may take me all summer to get this down, so I need to start as early in the spring as possible.

I got a bonus that wasn’t even on my spring “get to do” list… we found an egg on our property!  Not one of the leftover plastic eggs that our Easter egg hunters missed, (although we have already found a couple of those too) but a real live egg, just sitting on the ground.  We assume it is from a turkey, since we have an abundance of them around here, but we weren’t sure, so I consulted my researcher (aka – Google it) and I am still not totally sure. 

So far, I have checked four of the ten items off of my list.  That is a lousy 40% grade. But if you add my bonus, it ups the grade to 50%. (Thank goodness for extra credit.) However, spring is not over yet, so I still have time to redeem myself. It is probably more than I would have taken the time to do this early in the season if I had not put them on my spring “get to do” list.  I hope that you are taking the time to do things you enjoy about this season.  If not, make a list and start chipping away at it.  Life is too short not to make time for the things that make our hearts sing.