I am excited to share my entry for the Spring Fling contest put on by the wonderful literary agent, Kaitlyn Sanchez and fabulous author, Ciara O’Neal!

The rules: Choose a GIF related to ANYTHING spring, and write a story in 150 words or less! Easy? No. Fun? YES!

To be honest, spring is my least favorite season (and my husband’s favorite! lol). Here in MN, the weather can still be cold, the snow is melting (which is great!), but also leaves dirty slush EVERYWHERE, it’s windy, rainy, etc. BUT, the temperature is rising, the lakes are thawing, and amazing weather is ahead.

What’s one of the best parts of Spring? Getting to go back to the cabin. While some cabins stay open during Minnesota winters, many people close them down. However, either way, the docks and the boats get pulled out of the lakes before winter hits. Our docks are usually left in the yards for the winter, because when you get two feet of ice on the lake, you aren’t keeping your dock in (which I quickly learned from my CPs, that is not necessarily the case based on where you live). :)

So yes, here in the Midwest and probably most northern states, our docks come out of the water EVERY fall and get put back in the water every SPRING.

This is my nostalgic piece based off watching the docks going back in the water after 7 long months and that first jump off of the dock into the water! (yes, EVEN when it’s still freezing water (usually), it’s completely worth it when you’re a kid and don’t care!)

So here it is!

My GIF:

The Dock

By Nicole Garnett

Word count: 150

I sat on frozen ground for 7 months while white snow blanketed me.

Now, my family has returned to place me back in the fully thawed lake.

I’ll soon float on the freshwater with fish below and the warm sun above.

I hear Nikki’s voice, "Dad, hurry! Let's get it in the water!"

YES! Put me in!

Within minutes, people surround me.

"On the count of three, lift and push!" Dad says.

“One, two, three!”

WHOOSH!

I shiver as cold water rushes past my “legs.”

"It's in! Can I climb on?" asks Nikki.

"Go for it,” answers Dad.

"Jon! Carolyn! Last one in, is a rotten egg!"

“You’re all going to freeze!” Mom warns.

“Worth it!” Nikki declares.

Bang,

boom,

bang,

boom,

bang,

boom!

My boards bounce until…

SPLASH,

with repeated shrieks, screams and laughter.

Nikki clings to me, “I’ve missed this.”

Me too.

Finally, spring is…

here.

Be sure to check out all the amazing prizes and the donors here: https://sites.google.com/view/springflingwritingcontest/prizes?pli=1

In support of these wonderful donors, I have purchased DK Ryland’s PB: Giraffe is Too Tall for this Book. And will also be requesting several others at my local library (when I visit later today!)

Thanks for reading!!

Happy spring!!

My Spring Fling Entry!

Giraffe is Too Tall for This Book

Bear is a Bear