By Lee Scott
There are three annual events in March that make the month fly by for me.
First is the “spring forward” time change where we all lose an hour. This day is filled with unhappy people frustrated because some of their electronic clocks refuse to recognize the adjustment.
Second is the tax return preparation time where we gather all the pertinent information like income statements, copies of tax bills and other important documents and begin the grueling process.
The third event is the annual spring cleaning. This archaic ritual was practiced by my mother and had been passed down to her by her own mother.
Mom would designate a weekend in March and assign chores for all of us kids. The boys generally had the garage and basement to clean and the girls would clean out cabinets, dressers and closets.
For me, spring cleaning is one of those practices that I both hate and love at the same time. It gives me the opportunity to go through clothes and shoes and follow the “if you haven’t touched it in two years then give it away” rule.
The piles of magazines we have accumulated are donated and the miscellaneous junk is sorted and discarded.
My spouse believes that I am morbid because I always say things like “Get rid of it now, so the kids won’t have to do it later.”
The kitchen cabinets are always an interesting challenge in this process. Normally, there is an item like an open box of raisins sitting on a back shelf all dried up or a box of brown sugar that is hard as a rock. These discoveries remind me to put on some latex gloves. I worry about little critters having a feast in my cabinet.
One year I found an empty can of soda in the pantry. The can had been punctured and the contents had seeped out all over the back of a shelf. Everything had to get scrubbed down, including the shelves and the floor.
But soon, March will be ending and the March trifecta will be behind me. The clocks will all have the correct time, the tax returns will have been filed and once again, my house will be cleaned and organized.
It is then that I will find out how I did in my March Madness bracket, hoping to see if my favorite team has made the Final Four.
After all, March should include a little bit of fun.
