Signs of Spring

My favorite sign of spring, the one that I wait for not-so-patiently, is the opening of the Portland Malt Shoppe in Duluth. The shoppe closes for the winter and there is never a set date for re-opening. Usually once we hit a couple of days at 50 degrees in a row the shoppe will open and it is then that I feel confident that winter really is almost over.

In our warmer months our family frequents The Portland Malt Shoppe at least once every two weeks. Our tradition is to get malts for Scott and I, and cones or cups of ice cream for the kids. Regan's face is always covered in chocolate ice cream, where as Gwen and Braden's are usually relatively clean. (Regan is the oldest of the kids in case you don't know, yet she always manages to look like bozo the clown with brown lipstick instead of red. We still haven't figured out how she manages to smear the ice cream all over her face, while the younger kids do not.) After the kids finish their ice cream we walk. The malt shoppe overlooks Lake Superior and is near various parks and gardens, so there is always something beautiful to see nearby.

Last week on my way to my rheumatologist appointment I drove by the malt shoppe and the "open" shined bright red like a beacon calling to me, "I'm ready for you! Come have ice cream! Spring is here!" The kids were almost as excited as me when I told them later on that the malt shoppe was open again. They wanted to go get ice cream at the malt shoppe immediately, as did I, but we decided to wait until Friday night when we wouldn't have to be home early to get the kids in bed for school the next day.

Last night the kids and I picked Scott up from work, and we went to dinner. Before our food was even served Regan was asking if it was time to head to the malt shoppe. Finally we went and as I got out of the truck to take the short walk to the shoppe I breathed in deep and enjoyed the warm breeze across my face, one of the first of this spring. It was lovely. We got our malts and ice cream, and it was as perfect as I remember. Regan's face was, as usual, smeared with ice cream, and Braden scraped the bottom of his ice cream cup (which he referred to as his ice cream "bucket") until every bit of ice cream was consumed.





Oh, and by the way, spring is never really spring here. Despite the nearly 60 degree temperatures of the past two days we are currently in a Winter Storm Warning with an expected accumulation of 8-12 inches of wet snow. Pray for my sanity this weekend, because with this weather it is waning.