Spring Cleaning

Nary a dandelion was to be seen on Friday. However, on Saturday, through some
mystical communication via the vegetal hotline, they all conspired to make their
debut and the lawn was peppered with the bright yellow flowers. They had decided
there was something special about this day and conspired to commemorate it by
decorating the monotonous green carpet of grass with their bright accents.

There was not much time for observing nature as this was THE day- the day of
Spring cleaning. Company from Europe is coming next weekend- Scandinavian
company used to precision cleanliness in their domiciles. In a short month,
family will be arriving from the coast to attend the graduation ceremonies.
Plus it was simply time to clean away the last remnants of Winter and our imprisonment.

So we dug in to clean the carpets, scrub the floors, move furniture, toss
away the things we no longer need, even to clean out the garage and sweep off
the deck. It was a day of hard work and intense manual labor with the doors and
windows flung open and the animals hiding in their dens, confused over the
sudden chaos sweeping over their home, having their cages moved into strange
places, and the growling menace of the vacuum. We scrubbed, swept, shampooed,
polished, mopped, dusted, hosed, and cleaned until it felt like not a speck of
uncleanness could possibly remain. The house looked winderful. Well satisfied with our efforts, we
rested.  

Our respite was short lived, however, as the bustling tornado of a teenager
in a hurry burst into the house. Tonight was Prom night and Mr. Third All Conference
was not so concerned about the Academic Tournament that has consumed his day as
he was being perfect and ready on time for the party that would consume his
evening. In near panic he tore up the stairs to shower and don his finery for
the affair.

This is a child who thinks dressing up is a black t-shirt, jeans, and a pair
of Docs so putting on a tuxedo for him, I am sure, took more effort than putting
on a suit of armor required of a knight and his squire. Speaking of squires,
thank the gods my wife was there to sooth and cajole, to tie his tie and subdue
the errant hairs that sullied his coiffure, and to teach him how to walk in
shoes made for dancing and what that particular pocket was for. Soon enough, the
boy I raised was replaced by a polished gentlemen that would have made Henry
Higgins proud to call his creation. 

As we rushed outside to take the requisite pictures of my son and his date,
we noted that all of the other teenagers in our little cul-de-sac in the woods
had also been transformed. Now, instead of kids in shorts and skater garb, there
was an entourage of finely groomed young men and women, sparkling in that
scintillating moment between the glow  of youth and the grace of adulthood.

Wherever in the Universe there had been non-descript sameness, there was now sparkling finery and
a  beauty not formerly seen. Our neighborhood, our home, and our children
had all been touched by the magic of Spring.

posted by The Pendragon at 4/14/2003 04:52:00 PM