COMING OUT OF HIBERNATION

I'd been locked in the house for almost a week with the flu. I'd been banned to my room, shades closed, my cell phone at my bedside table next to a water bottle that I kept refilled from the bathroom sink. The only person I saw besides my 'friends' on T.V, was my husband, Steven who periodically came into the room to see if I was ready to eat anything. My sons kept a safe distance away, calling me on the phone a few times a day to say hi.

When I finally felt strong enough to leave my bedroom I walked into the living room, the sun was streaming in the picture window. I felt like I needed to shade my eyes, it had been so long since I'd seen daylight.

“How are you feeling?” my son Alex asked.

“Better.” I said.

“Are you still contagious?” he asked.

“Probably.” I admitted. “I'll stay away from you. But I just want to go out on the back deck and get some air.” I said.

As I stepped outside I couldn't believe how different the yard looked in only a few days. The daffodils were blooming, the forsythia bush in the neighbors yard had popped. Our neighborhood Cooper hawk was circling around the tree line, grabbing sticks and taking it up to his nest in the neighbor's tree top.

That's when Steven came outside. “When did you get up?” he asked.

“A few minutes ago.” I turned my face up to feel the warmth of the sun. “I feel like I've been sick for so long that I missed the season changing.” I whined. “When did their cherry blossom tree come to life?” I asked, pointed to the tree in the neighbor's back yard.

“A few days ago.” Steven said as he leaned against the rail. “Did you see all of our daffodils?”

The dozens of daffodils that Alex and I had transplanted last spring dotted the back yard. “They're beautiful.” I sighed. “What else is coming up?”

Steven pointed to the side fence. “The tiger lilies are just starting to peek out and your lilac bush out front has just started to show some green.”

“I feel like I've been hibernating.” I said as I rubbed my eyes and looked back up in the tree tops as the Cooper hawk made large gliding circles, skimming the top branches. “Do you think they've already laid their eggs?”

Steven shrugged his shoulders. “It's still pretty early in the season.” he said. “I don't think you've missed much.” I knew he was trying to make me feel better.

“I guess there's still plenty of spring left for me to see.” I agreed.

“So you haven't been watching the news, have you.” Steven asked.

“No, why?”

“There's still plenty of winter left to see.” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“There's going to be a snowstorm this weekend.”

I started to laugh. “Very funny.”

“I'm serious.” he said. “I'm sure it won't stay on the ground for long, but still...we're not done with the snow yet.”

“But spring is everywhere!” I cried looking back at all the daffodils. “I'm ready for spring!”

Steven shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe you came out of hibernation a few days too early.” he said.