What I Really Know About Spring Fever Doing Chores - AARP Bulletin

What I Really Know About Spring Fever Doing Chores

"What I Really Know" 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. Below, reader Laurence Taylor of Elk Creek, Penn., shares what he really knows about "spring fever." I heard about spring fever when I was 10 years old. I kept putting off my chores. Mother said that I just had spring fever. “What’s that?” I asked. She said that it was not doing things I needed to do, and was just another term for laziness. Laziness was a sin. That was a heavy charge, and I didn’t want any fever that led me to sin. I asked her, “How did I get this fever? And how do I get rid of it?” Mom had just the thing. She came back carrying a spoon and a bottle. She said, “Open up,” poured a spoonful of thick, dark, greenish liquid onto the spoon, and shoved it in my mouth. I choked, swallowed, swallowed some more and finally uttered, “Ugh!” Sulphur and molasses were the best tonic for spring fever, she said. I jumped off my seat, put on outdoor clothes and went to do the chores that I had been trying to avoid. Sulphur and molasses had nothing to do with curing my spring fever, but the threat of the cure did. I never caught spring fever again. It was much easier to do my chores, get the guys together for some baseball practice, go hiking in the woods — anything but hang around letting her think I needed another dose of “tonic.” The cure was worse than the fever. 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

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.