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Fool for Spring

April 16, 2009 on 6:17 pm | In 2009, Jenn Mercer | No Comments

Fool for Spring

Many people describe themselves as “fools for Spring” in a metaphorical sense, but my meaning is fairly literal. Each Spring I act against my own best interests in a manner contradictory to good advice. It all started when I was 10 years old and my teacher declared that I was sniffling too much and needed to go to the doctor. Mrs. M (even now I am too terrified to type her whole name) disapproved of many of my habits and, to her mind, my sniffling was a deliberate attempt to drive her mad.

My doctor gave me a once-over, diagnosed me with allergies, and sent me away with a list of Do’s and Don’ts – mostly Don’ts.  As I went over the list, Ì felt my world closing in on me. Stay inside. Keep windows closed. Get rid of pets. Get rid of any stuffed animals. Throw out old bedding (yes, even my Star Wars sheets).

Can I say that at 10 I was still not ready for this? I looked at my mom, she looked back, and I refolded the list and “forgot” it in the car.

I grew and my allergies receded to a large extent. Since that fateful doctor’s appointment, I had made a conscious attempt not to learn exactly what my allergy triggers were so that I would not be forced to remove them from my life. Then I moved to NC where Spring does not so come in so much like a lamb as like a blinding chorus of angels.  When I say blinding, I mean that literally. And when I speak of angels, you must know that these angels are made of pollen. One of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen is that of a 40 foot wall of yellow pollen blowing across the beltline. If I had not known that pollen was a possibility, I would have thought it a chemical attack.

In the time since I was first diagnosed with allergies, medical science has made great leaps. I take my antihistamines each night, and when things are really bad I take some real P-S-E-U-D-O-E-P-H-E-D-R-I-N- E. I expect the knock on my door from the meth-squad any day now, but it is worth it.

What is not worth it is the list. You see, the list is still around. It’s changed in a few small details, but the essence is the same. I offer a shortened version of the most modern advice for your convenience:

1. Sterilize the indoor environment.
2. Shut out the outdoor environment.

Here is what I do:

1. Open the windows as much as possible.
2. Sit outside as soon as the weather is suitable, or on sunny days.
3. Walks are good.
4. Gardening is better.
5. Smell flowers, lots of them.

My car is yellow, the window ledges are yellow, and the azaleas are popping off one by one. Today we have the Spider and Princess varieties as well as three other kinds whose names I have forgotten, and the traditional “big old pink” azalea. I have my blinds and windows open and I will be heading off to the garden store later today. I have a shopping list that can be summarized as “things to give me an excuse to stick a shovel in the dirt and inhale its rich sweetness.” I suspect that I shall get some pollen up the nose when I do that, but you won’t catch me crying about it – sniffling maybe, but not crying.