By Mary Kay Scharf
A few weeks ago we had our first amazing spring day and the patterns of our neighborhood were reestablished once again…if only short lived. We live in a “normal” neighborhood in Normal, where neighbors are friends and people help people. It starts out this way…a neighbor gets home from work and goes to get the mail about the time another neighbor does the same. They meet in the driveway and start talking and soon another neighbor joins the conversation. Before long, we have one of our regular impromptu driveway parties where people laugh, relax and enjoy each other. The driveway party is only one sign of spring, but it made me think of others.
Sleeping with the windows open is enjoyable, until morning when the birds wake before dawn and the sounds of children and mowers bring an end to a sleeping -in day. Children are once again playing outdoors and we need to drive with caution to prevent a catastrophe that sometimes results from careless behaviors while playing and careless behaviors while driving.
Spring provides an opportunity to ramp up exercise, which is notable by the increased numbers of people enjoying the trail and bikers throughout the community. While I clearly need to heed the recommendation of experts, increased exercise should be more easily attained with gardening, walking, biking, and swimming in the summer. If you are raising digital moles, like I once did, (you know, the ones who only come of the basement for food) limit gaming and texting and whatever the newest craze is and INSIST your children play outdoors for an hour each day. Some kids were born to play this way and others must be manipulated or even bribed!
Another sign of spring is the increase in farm equipment on the county roads. While fall is the busiest season for this equipment, last Saturday we passed two different pieces on the way to Danvers. For your own safety and the safety of the farmers, please exercise extreme caution and patience when passing.
Finally, spring is an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature with the budding trees and early bloomers. I am so appreciative of the homeowners and businesses who take time to prepare their properties for spring beauty and develop this further with summer plantings. While I am not an expert and have had my share of fails, I work each year to bring more color to my yard, spread across the months from spring to fall. How wonderful it would be if these months were filled with the colors of the rainbow in each yard of each neighborhood.
So as you enjoy the changing weather and spend more time outside, I encourage you to relax with neighbors and friends, be cautious drivers looking out for children playing, increase your exercise and the exercise of your children, enjoy the beauty of nature, and contribute to the beauty of our community with colorful plantings.
Mary Kay Scharf is the Director of Principal Leadership in the Bloomington Public Schools. A Clinton native, she was a teacher for 7 years and has been a principal and school administrator for the past 26 years. She is a volunteer for multiple community organizations, most passionately for the Not In Our Town initiative. The proud mother of 3 and grandmother of one, Mary Kay lives in Normal with her husband, Jamie.
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