April

I kind of have a love-hate relationship with April.

I love all the signs of new life that pop up everywhere I look: budding trees, tulips, daffodils, flowering bushes, green grass. I love hearing the birds chirping in the tree right outside our bedroom window each morning. I even like watching the squirrels running around our backyard and along our deck with the boys. (At our house, all squirrels are referred to as "Jumpy" because that's the name of Curious George's little squirrel friend who lives in the country). And, most of the time, spring temperatures are so pleasant--not too hot, not too cold, not too humid.

So why do I not love everything about April? One look at Tyler's face and it becomes evident. I do not like pollen, and here in NC, it is everywhere! My white SUV, which is parked in the garage most of the time, wears a layer of yellowish green powder. At least this year it has been raining every few days to wash away the pollen that collects on every outdoor surface. Even so, poor Tyler has and will continue to have swollen eyes for the remainder of the month, or until the trees finish pollinating all over everything.


This year, to combat his seasonal allergies, we're trying prescription nasal spray and eye drops. These prescriptions were not cheap, but they do seem to be helping more than the Zyrtec we tried the previous 2 Aprils. The thing that helps the most is to keep Tyler inside, but that's just not a plausible solution. Tyler loves to be outside. He craves fresh air and space to run around and play. So, we go outside every afternoon, unless it's raining, and when we come back inside the boys head straight to the shower. I can't take the chance that any pollen they have on their clothes, skin, and hair will get distributed throughout the house and then rubbed into Tyler's eyes. I've had to rearrange our schedule a bit because we usually do baths at bedtime, but thankfully April is almost half over and then we should be able to return to our normal routine.


Now that I've totally dissed the month of April, let me end on a more positive note. This year Easter falls in April and so this month I'm reminded of my Savior's death on a cross for my sins and His resurrection. We've been reading Easter books at bedtime with the boys, and I'm not talking about the kind that are all about the Easter Bunny and hunting for eggs. These are simple board books that share the true meaning of Easter in a fun way that the boys can understand. Obviously at this age, there isn't a whole lot of focus on the violent death that Jesus suffered. We primarily focus on the new life that God has made available to us through his Son and that's really the most important message we can teach them.

And one more reason to love the month of April--Nathan's birthday! I can't believe his 3rd birthday is coming up at the end of the month! He's getting entirely too big.