Spring Fever

It feels a bit early to have spring fever here in Stockholm, as I sit here on this last day of February. March brings with it the hope of spring, though I know that there are at least two more months of coat-wearing and cold before spring, and spring fever, are in FULL BLOOM. And yet there it is, staring me in the face. FULL BLOWN. Spring fever. 

Even our cat has it. She appears to have more energy and spunk lately as she leaps and hops around, chasing her "snake" and "killing" the mat in front of our balcony door. She has also been more talkative and she yells at us for no apparent reason. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was in heat but she was spayed last year before we adopted her and brought her home. Perhaps it is merely that time of year for her and she still feels remnants of the hormones that would make her a mamma cat. 

If I felt that spring truly was just around the corner I might be more excited. I find myself yearning so strongly these days for a warm, sunny day and a picnic outdoors on a soft bed of bright green grass, where I might find myself lazily counting clouds as they drift by. For now I'll have to settle for lying on the garnet-colored shag rug in our living room and allowing the sun to warm me through the window. Unfortunately it is still brisk enough outdoors to cause my eyes to water as I walk from the apartment to the subway, the subway to the office, and then on to which ever next destination there happens to be. 

The good news is that it is now light out when I leave the office, which means it may be time to get on my bicycle again instead of being herded along with the rest of them on the subway, or bus. I always feel happier after a leisurely ride to work in the morning. Fresh air is always nicer than the stuffy air of public transportation. I guess I need to locate my rain pants and get with it! 

But in the meantime, how do we fix this battle of spring fever against the final months of winter? We may not be able to walk outside in a t-shirt yet but we can start to plan for it and dream about it. Maybe even pretend we are at the beach.... like the lovely sign above...

... pretend we are listening to waves softly roll in with the surf and to the sounds of seagulls chatting with each other as their soar above...

Or we can pretend we are out on our bike on a sunny day in short-sleeves...

Or reminisce about the coming of spring... 

... and all of the beautiful blossoms that will soon be out there to greet us...

How do you manage your spring fever?