Fling, (noun): "A short period of enjoyment or wild behavior." Also can be called a spree.

To use the term spring fling is to evoke the wild "Animal House" days of spring break, the student led carnival of University of Arizona or adults of a certain age feeling a reprieve of responsibility. It conjures up irresponsibility, out-of-control behavior, and giddiness.

I like the definition of a short period of enjoyment. I imagine spring fling as the flinging wide the shutters of winter and encountering the breeze and tender light of spring. There is much talk about spring cleaning- getting one's house in order. I also like to think of spring as a time to mentally clean out those things that weigh us down and keep us from the buoyancy of life's enjoyment: self-restraint and the fear of being foolish, staidness and the fear of being passionate about something, or inertia and the fear of change.

I think that a spring fling can be something to help prime the pump for beginning to enjoy one's life. Sometimes the little things can remind us that it is okay to be giddy about our life. Sometimes all we have are the little things that make us smile.

What can you do this spring to practice short periods of enjoyment? Here are some of my ideas:

Eat lunch outside on a park bench, on a country hillside or on some dusted off garden furniture
Cut or purchase a bouquet of daffodils or tulips for your desk
Cut or purchase some forsythia or pussy willow branches, place in water in a vase on your hearth and watch the blossoms pop forth
Check out the National Cherry Blossom Festival (if you live nearby Washington DC. If not- take a try-to-locate the blossoming cherry, dogwood, apple trees walk in your neighborhood)
Go fly a kite
Swing on swings at a park. Enjoy the wind on your face as you pump back and forth.
Ride your bike on an errand. Enjoy the exercise, the zero-carbon transport and the freedom of travel without the worry of traffic and parking.
Check out a new- for- you- genre of music (e.g. jazz, country, indie rock, classical) through Spotify or Pandora
Pull out your old games and teach a younger generation the joy of jacks, cards, dominoes, Uno, Sorry, hopscotch or jumping rope.
Take a neighborhood walk after dinner. Enjoy it solo, with your "Honey" or with a neighbor you'd like to get to know.