The sound of men gamely cheering as their team scores a soccer goal. The sound of two girls kicking their own ball as they emulate their dads playing on the field. The sound of large paper target faces crinkling in the breeze as they’re placed on their stands in preparation for a morning of archery. The sound of children yelling  in the playground as they swing and climb.

The sound of racquets volleying a ball back and forth over the net as a woman takes a tennis lesson. The sound of pups barking as they frolic in the dog run with their four-legged friends. The sound of joggers approaching as they run a circuit around the park. The sound of birds chirping as they welcome the arrival of spring.

As Truffle and I took our morning walk, I savored the happy cacophony that drowned out the music playing through my earbuds. After a gorgeous March that tricked people, animals and plants into thinking winter was finally over, and an unseasonably cold beginning of April that made fools out of all of us, the past few days have brought everyone and everything out of hibernation for good.

The bulbs I planted last fall that barely survived the recent days of frigid weather are starting to show signs of life again. The grass is transforming color from winter brown to bold green. The trees are budding. The days are brighter and longer.

I am slowly starting to feel more energetic, emerging from my annual bout of winter sucks can I just crawl under my covers until spring melancholy. Spending time outside no longer feels like a chore. Storing the winter jackets and gloves and hats away until next winter is cause for a party. Sitting outside to grab a meal at a restaurant in my town’s charming shopping district makes me briefly forget that I’m in New Jersey and not in France.

Spring Break ends for Chloe and Sophie today. It’s back to school tomorrow, for a two-month stretch that will mark the official end of Sophie’s elementary school days and Chloe’s first year as a high school student. I still find it hard to believe that I’m the mom of two daughters who are starting to reveal flashes of what they’ll be like as adults. Witnessing their evolution is both exhilarating and terrifying. And occasionally like an episode of the “Twilight Zone.”

Time has no intention of slowing the hell down, even though I’ve politely asked it – on several occasions – to channel a snail.

But I’m not going to harp on the all-too-rapid passage of time, especially since the sky is blue and the sun is shining and the temperatures are gradually creeping up into t-shirt territory. It’s the beginning of a six-month stretch of mild weather. To celebrate,  I plan to simply slow down and enjoy the ride.

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What are your favorite sounds of spring?