A sign of spring!

I've written before about some of our, uh... unusual(?)... family traditions. One of them took place today. For you see, the robin is our family bird. What, doesn't every family have an official bird? I love the robin because it is so common we take it for granted, yet it is the sign that winter is almost behind us and it is beautiful. It's like aspirin, if it wasn't so common, we'd be aghast at the miracle of it all.

Anyhoo, my husband was looking out the back window, the one I usually spend so much of my day looking out, and he calls me to run into the kitchen... quickly! I look out said window and see nothing. He says he saw a robin. Yeah, right (remembering last year when he tried to tell me a female cardinal was a robin). So, he goes to the side window and looks out to see if the robin had made its' way there. He gets a big smile on his face and has me look out that window.

There... in a winter white world with five inches of new snow on the ground... still covering the bushes and trees... were at least forty or fifty robins. I have never seen anything like it before. I don't think I've ever seen that many robins together at one time. It was like God was telling us such a miserable, record-breaking winter like we've endured... needs an overwhelming sign that spring really is "just around the corner".

Oh, in case you are wondering... there is no reward for the family member who sees the first robin... just bragging rights. My husband is still talking about the year our son-in-law spotted the first robin (a couple years ago) while they were visiting. We do, however, have a Beanie Baby stuffed robin that sits in various places around the house (currently in the family room). I've always thought family traditions (even goofy ones) are very important. As for me, there is always next year. :)