Symptoms of Spring Fever - marshmallow chicks -- AARP Bulletin

Spring Fever Marshmallow Peeps

Snow may cover the ground but once the marshmallow chicks land on store shelves I know spring is coming

My first symptom of spring fever hits when marshmallow “peeps” first appear on the store shelves—usually the day after Valentine’s Day. I all but ignore the neatly stacked bags of jelly beans, wrapped chocolates and Cadbury eggs, but can’t resist snagging packs of the sugary marshmallow fluff tinted yellow and shaped like a chicken. I don’t make it out of the store without digging through my purse for something sharp enough to puncture the protective cellophane. And then, with a peep in each cheek, I celebrate my first taste of spring. Here in the Midwest, several more months usually pass before the weather starts to catch up with the calendar. Any hint of a balmy temperature—anything over 50 degrees—and I open the windows, let the fresh air flow through the house and pretend that I can’t hear the furnace kick on. I admire my flowerbed of contrasting red tulips and yellow daffodils, as well as the newly blooming forsythia bushes that run alongside the house—and then I have to turn off the television and radio so I can’t hear the warnings about an approaching early-spring snowstorm. In the garage, I faithfully tend four flats of too-early-to-plant marigolds, impatiens and begonias. Until the soil warms up outside, I keep them watered and removed from the frigid drafts that seep under the garage door at night. When an early-spring snowstorm or still-too-cool soil darkens my mood, I think of one thing the weather can’t spoil—my stash of marshmallow peeps, hidden in the breadbox in the kitchen. They’re a little stale by now, but one poke through the cellophane proves, at least to me, that spring is absolutely here. The AARP Bulletin's "What I Really Know" column comes from our readers. Each month we solicit short personal essays on a selected topic and post some of our favorites in print and online. Robin Wilson is a reader from South Charleston, Ohio. Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

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