The Early Spring Slog

March. It gets me every year. It feels like it should be spring by now, but it is really still winter. This year, maybe more so. On the one hand, we enjoyed a week's vacation in February this year, which is an unusual treat and should help. On the other hand, it is still March. In fact, the only month on the calendar this year without a single day off school for the kids. They are tired, and I am too. Still, there are many moments of joy. I think I need to recount some of them:

• It is now light outside when Jeremy leaves for work and when he returns. That is a wonderful difference. The kids have taken to meeting him at the train stop when he comes home. Well, really, Meg started it, wanting some time alone with Dad. The younger ones have tried to make it competitive so we sometimes have to take turns. But still, it is nice that they can go get him. 
• Warmth. Several days in the 50s this week. We aren't out of the woods of winter yet - still single-digits several mornings this week. But the thaw is coming.
• Humongous icebergs. Well, maybe that isn't quite the right term for them ... I mean those ice mountains next to the parking lot at school. There is one that started about 20 feet high a few weeks ago. It is down several feet now, but still rock-solid, and John's favorite place to play. We try to stop after school most days for a few minutes. (For some inexplicable reason, the school authortities haven't been chasing kids off of this lethal liability.) James and Meg are of course too old to want to just climb ice mountains. However, they very kindly (and quickly) offer to escort Helen on it. Fine by me.
• James had a super-cool program at M.I.T. this weekend (Spark). It is run by an army of M.I.T. student volunteers which makes it nearly free, and he gets two full days worth of classes on pretty cool topics. Today he had 2 hours on the Philosophy of Law; 2 hours on Cryptography; 1 hour each on Absolute Zero and Modern Rapid Fabrication. Tomorrow's classes include A Brief History of Time (modest undertaking for an hour); Programming Simple Math in Python; How to Land on the Moon; and Languages of Middle Earth. Even though he is pretty worn out after a very long week of rehearsals and performances of the middle school musical (he was stage crew), he has been keyed up for these classes.
• Roller skating. While Jeremy took James in for his classes today (and spent the day working), I had the 3 younger kids for a long Satuday, plus Meg's friend Rachel. We decided to go roller skating. We found a rink about 30 minutes away. The older girls liked it. John loved it. Helen wasn't too keen on the skating, but liked the corner with the fancy disco lights where she stripped off her skates and danced liked a maniac for over an hour. Nice way to break up a Saturday. 
• Work. I actually made significant writing progress this week. My manuscript is still far from done, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. And while I don't yet feel like an expert on the psychology concepts I have to learn, I do finally feel like I am progressing from student to ... knowledgeable, at least. Able to hold my own, soon, I hope.
• Tumbling. Helen goes once a week to a sort of pre-gymnastics class. It is actually with her daycare group, but I take her in on a Wednesday, when she is home with me otherwise. The teacher is great and Helen loves it. She now runs about everywhere turning somersaults and "making a cat-tail." (That is her teacher's talk for early-stages of learning a cartwheel - two hands down and one foot up in the air, like a cat's tail.)