April Makes May

Linda Burton posting from Arkadelphia, Arkansas – “I’m glad you were born in April,” Mother used to say. “That way I wasn’t pregnant in the hot summertime.” I’m glad too, April is such a promising month. Showers and flowers and Easter parades and (when I was a little girl) dotted-swiss pinafores. This year I was gifted with birthday cupcakes on April 4, and new bird feeders, and the return of the hummingbirds, apparently none the worse for that long flight back from wherever they wintered. The good news for April is – I met my March 31 deadline and managed to get 51 new Pages set up on this website. The bad news is – it cost me my right arm. Seriously, all those computer hours shut down my arm muscles. I knew I was in a hurt, but the disaster element sunk in when I was unable to lift my arm high enough to put away a glass on the second shelf of the cupboard.

I whined my way into the doctor’s office who promptly sent me across the street to the hospital and the therapy unit. A cheerful but unrelenting Kevin pulled and tugged my shoulder, slapped on a hot pack, and coerced me into a promise to do every exercise on the instruction sheet at least three times a day and to come back three times a week till I could move again. So, I did. And now, I can. But I didn’t write a lick for a month. I guess “behind” is my middle name. On top of that, I had some unwelcome visitors.

Sneaky and insidious, the pine tree pollen. Just when you think you can leave the doors open and enjoy the spring air, pollen creeps in and covers every surface in the house, including my lungs, I’m sure. Cautious and plodding, the groundhog, who had an OK Corral standoff with the neighbor’s cat. Cute but conniving, the raccoons, who not only pushed the button that opened the bird feeder but replaced the lid when they’d emptied it. Poky and persistent, the box turtle who knew exactly where he wanted to go and kept on going, despite the three holes somebody must have drilled in his shell. (Who would do such a thing?) Musty and dank, water in the floorboard of my car, leaking in from a faulty windshield install and defying all efforts to dry out. Yiminy cricket!

But then, but THEN, son Mike and his Brenda came riding in on a Hyundai on their way from Florida to Colorado and, just like the Lone Ranger and Tonto, saved the day. They cheered me mightily with their smiles and helpful ways, such as climbing under the car to pinpoint the water problem, and looking after everything in the kitchen, and making happy talk. Thanks ever so much, guys.

I guess you’ve got to have those April showers to lead into everything that’s good about May. So what if I lost a lot of writing time in April; I was productive in other ways. I prepared and delivered the capital cities talk for the DAR and enjoyed interacting with those dedicated ladies. I analyzed and refined the manuscript for the kids book “Bobby’s Absolutely Amazing Adventures in the Capital Cities” and attended a writer’s conference. I repotted all my African violets and, with the help of neighbor Janice, set out a few tomato plants in those soft-sided bags that pretend to be pots. And every day, I feed the birds.

Things are growing.