Spring Weather Short-lived in 'Sprillow' Neighborhood, Dedham

“Spring Fever.” Here in the Sprillow Neighborhood, we’ve got it bad.

Global warming aside, last week’s weather gave everyone I know an extra “spring” in their step (ba dum bum) as we got a little taste of what’s to come. As New Englanders, we’re all raised not to trust the Indian Summer or the early snowfall, as the weather can change on a dime. We know that it can be sunny and warm on a Tuesday and snowing the following night. We never put those winter boots too far back in the closet and keep flip-flops on hand at all times.

But still, when spring comes to Dedham, no one can resist giving in to it.

As the temperature started climbing towards 70 degrees, I was a little thrown by the fact that it was mid-March. However, when the official First Day of Spring brought 80-degree weather and I stripped the bed of the soft flannel sheets, I came up with what I thought was a great explanation. “The calendar is a bit of a man-made invention,” I explained to Andy. “Mother Nature adheres more to the phases of the moon than whether it’s March or April.”

He really didn’t care (nor did he buy my ridiculous logic), as he would be spending the entire week outside for Nobles baseball spring training and was happy to not be fighting off hypothermia like he usually does during pre-season.

One of the great phenomenons of spring in New England is that neighbors behave like animals that have been hibernating all winter. Can’t you just picture the National Geographic Special on Spring in Dedham:

“Like the North American Woodchuck, the pale Dedhamite carefully peers out her front door as the sun peeks into her dark home. She feels the sun on her pasty skin and when she decides that the environment outside of her cave is warm enough to survive in, her young come scurrying through the opening beside her. They have shed their winter coats and having fully molted, are ready to adapt to the warmer climate.”

As we all gathered in the street, we remarked on how big the kids had gotten and how long it had been since we’d seen each other. Balls and bikes came out of garages, lawn chairs were pulled out and wine was uncorked as we celebrated the long cold months apart and ushered in the spring. The kids talked about lemonade stands and ran through the neighborhood until it got dark. Spring Fever had taken over!

Of course, the March we know has returned, the windows have been closed and the heat has been turned back on. But that taste of spring reminded us all that it’s just around the corner, and here in our neighborhood, we are ready to welcome it back.

But this time, I’ll keep the flannel sheets in the front of the closet. Just in case.