28 degrees ≠ spring

softball starts today. that lovely team sport that signals the beginning of warmth and happiness, except for today, when we'll be playing in scarves and mittens... this ought to be interesting... the one neat thing about winter is that i notice spring as it's happening. the new buds come up so slowly that it's possible to fawn over them for days, weeks even, before they are fully pushed up through the ground or out of their frozen branches. at home, the best i could do would be to remember that yesterday there wasn't a leaf on that tree that now provides so much shade. that reminds me, i wonder where my flip-flops are? haven't seen them since september.