This morning I re-initiated my morning constitutionals for the 2008 season. The long, snowy Chicago winter seems to have finally admitted defeat and started preparing itself for hibernation.
The blue skies and sunshine beckoned me through my bedroom window, begging me to come and play. But the chilly April morning was waiting outside the door, to remind me not to put my winter sweaters away just yet. A couple more weeks.
I pondered that blue sky as I lapped my four-block constitutional route. Prettier than a picture, it smiled down on my bare head, patting it gently in appreciation for my willingness to come out.
I happened to end up passing the local elementary school as the students were arriving for their first day back in class, following their spring break. It seems that we all, children and adults alike, had decided that we might just be able to force the mercury a few degrees higher by wearing clothing just a little too light for the real temperature. There we all were, going our various ways in skirts and capris and light jackets. All of us a bit colder than we'd like, perhaps, but happy to make the sacrifice. Happy to face the day without scarf, hat or gloves, and additionally without fear of frostbite reprisal for our optimism.
I looked for robins and smiled at children too young to know the inside of a classroom and breathed deeply of the wet, clean smell of spring.
My dad swears that nearly any ailment I've ever complained of could have been prevented by more exercise or more deep breathing outside. On a morning like this, I could almost believe it.
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