SIMPLE PLEASURES: THINGS TO ACTUALLY DO THIS SPRING

I spend all winter pining for warm weather, for sunshine, for leafy and lush greenness. I spend the arduously long, cold nights sketching out the details of the legion of fabulous things I plan on doing once the weather turns, when the days are endless and temperate.

Without fail, come warm weather, most of those things, however simple, remain but a dream and are still undone once the leaves start falling.I am determined, this time around, to actually do those exuberant,joyous little things that pop into my mind. This year, as nature cycles from Spring to Summer, and then to Autumn, nothing that I yearn to do will be left behind.

Each season, and our experience of it, is entirely unique: it will pass, taking with it all but fleeting and liquid sensory memory. The next version will be the same in name only, the contents will be different. I have vowed to embrace this Spring and all it has to offer. I will follow wishes and whims--when Autumn emerges, slowly and colourfully,I will have no regrets.

SOME LITTLE THINGS TO DO THIS SPRING

1-FLY A KITE. YOU CAN STILL FIND THEM AT DOLLAR AND TOY STORES AND, OF COURSE, ON LINE. BUY AN ENTIRE SEASON'S WORTH, PLUS EXTRAS. WHEN THE STRING BECOME TANGLED OR THE KITE PUNCTURED, YOU DON'T HAVE TO MISS A BEAT. IF YOU ARE AMBITIOUS YOU COULD EVEN MAKE YOUR OWN.

2-DINE AT A DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT, EVEN IF IT IS JUST A SONIC. PUT YOUR SEAT BACK AND KICK OFF YOUR SHOES.

3-SAVOR A CONEY AND A ROOT BEER FLOAT WITH ALL OF THE GUSTO OF YOUR INNER 8-YEAR-OLD.

4-GROW SOMETHING. FROM SEEDS.EVEN IF YOU ARE IN THE CITY WITH NO PERSONAL INCH OF EARTH, ALL YOU NEED IS A SMALL POT AND A PATCH OF SUNSHINE.

5-BUY A HANDFUL OF PINWHEELS AND STICK THEM IN A LARGE CONTAINER,DIRT AND ALL, OR IN A VASE. OPEN A WINDOW AND LET THE BREEZE PROPEL THEM. SMILING IS INEVITABLE.

6-WEAR LOTS OF WHITE.

7-MAKE FRESH-SQUEEZED LEMONADE.DEVELOP YOUR OWN SPECIAL BLEND.

8-IF YOU HAVE A DOG, WALK THEM FOR THE JOY OF COMPANIONSHIP AND THE CHANCE TO BE OUTSIDE, NOT AS A CHORE TO SPRINT THROUGH.

9-WHEN LATE AFTERNOON SUN INTRUDES INTO YOUR SPACE,OBSCURING THE TV OR COMPUTER SCREEN, BASK IN THE WARMTH OF ITS RAYS INSTEAD OF BEING ANNOYED BY THE PERCEIVED INCONVENIENCE.

10-SCAMPER THROUGH A PARK BLOWING BUBBLES. YES, LIKE YOU DID AS A 5-YEAR-OLD.

11-GO ON A REAL PICNIC, THE KIND THAT INVOLVES LOADING YOUR CAR WITH A BASKET, A BLANKET , PLASTIC CUTLERY AND A COOLER. IT IS WORTH IT.

12-PICK ENOUGH DANDELIONS FOR A BOUQUET.

13-EAT FOOD AS IT COMES INTO SEASON. BAKE FRUIT-BASED DESSERTS WHEN THE FRUIT IS FRESH, RIPE AND LOCAL. IT WILL TASTE DIFFERENT.

14-BUY ARMFULS OF VINTAGE SUNDRESSES AND SUNGLASSES. WEAR THEM EVERYWHERE WHILE PRETENDING THAT YOU ARE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: BRIGITTE BARDOT, SOPHIA LOREN, AUDREY HEPBURN, ANN-MARGRET, LESLIE CARON.

15-RIDE A BICYCLE.

16-HIKE AT STATE OR NATIONAL PARKS. THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE THERE FOR, AFTER ALL.

17-SLEEP WITH THE WINDOWS OPEN.

18-RISE EARLY, WITHOUT COMPLAINT. ANTICIPATE THE LOVELY THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO WITH A FEW EXTRA MINUTES A DAY.

19-WATCH FIREWORKS IN PERSON, NOT ON TELEVISION.

20-WALK ACROSS A BRIDGE--APPRECIATE THE GRACEFUL, UTILITARIAN MERGING OF MAN AND NATURE.

21-EAT OUTSIDE AT RESTAURANTS WHENEVER POSSIBLE. COLD DRINKS TASTE BETTER WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING DOWN THAN THEY DO WHEN YOU ARE BEING SUFFOCATED BY ARTIFICIALLY COOLED AIR.

22-SPEND AS MUCH TIME AS YOU CAN WATERSIDE.

ILLUSTRATION:"A June Afternoon" (1898) by A.B. Frost