n Manhattan this week. Surprise! Just last week I was emailing photos to my parents of "all-the-layers" that go onto my son before we can go to the park for 20 minutes. Diaper, singlet, onesie, thermals, woolens, snow suit, beanie, mittens, socks, socks, boots.
And then Monday came. The air was a warm 14 degrees. Tuesday it was a balmy 16! It was magnificent! Diaper, onesie, jeans, jumper, socks, boots. Noah could hardly believe his freedom of movement without all the layers on. No more michelin-man walking awkwardly around the playground. He could twist and turn and walk backwards and run and bend! Even better, we stayed at the park for close to an hour, 2 or 3 times a day. Noah and I actually worked up a sweat racing around the playground. He was exhausted and had lovely long naps and crashed out early at night!
I truly never thought I would be so excited about 14 degrees. My Grandma in Sydney laughed at me when I was telling her how warm it was - in Sydney autumn is creeping in and the temperature has fallen to a chilly 18 degrees. Jumpers are being pulled out of closets and people are wondering if it is too early to put the electric blankets on the beds. If it was 18 degrees here tomorrow, I would be taking Noah to the roof deck for a splash in his inflatable pool!
Everything is relative. That statement seems so much more evident now that I am living in NYC and my extended family are all Down Under in the hemispheric opposite climate.
It is quite spectacular to see and feel this drastic season change here on the east coast. After almost 3 years in southern California, I had almost forgotten how good spring feels. The season changes are so subtle in LA, the weather is always temperate and pleasant (one reason nearly all Los Angelenos note the weather as one of the best things about the city).
I have also realised that spring has a profound and irresistible effect on all of us. Spring cleaning, I have discovered is an innate reaction, a reflex, that is triggered by this climate shift. There is no other explanation for, why, on a Saturday afternoon, I had husband and baby packed into the storage closet organising and cleaning and sorting.
Spring is sprung.
Post Script: Of course it has also brought with it torrential rain for the past 2 days!
Photo: With all the extra movement afforded Noah without the michelin-man layers, he refuses to face forwards on the swings, preferring to watch all the passing trucks out on the road.
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