KidsOutAndAbout Memphis Newsletter
March 12, 2026

Local in-person events this weekend

FREE events this weekend

Local in-person events next weekend

2026 Summer Camp Preview

It's CSA Sign Up Season!

Easter Fun!

Local Preschools

Big List of Private Schools

Post your organization and events to our site (It's all FREE!)

Tue, Mar 17: 2026 Lucas St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Cooper-Young
Sat, Apr 4: Easter Egg Hunt - Dixon Gallery and Gardens

Dear KidsOutAndAbout readers:

For much of the country this year, March simultaneously is bringing hope that spring may in fact return to North America AND the awareness that every car is at risk for the foreseeable future. All winter long, water seeps into asphalt cracks, freezes, expands, melts, and freezes again, and bit by bit the driving experience becomes a game called Avoid the Crater. 

But lately I’ve started seeing the repair trucks out there again, their bright-vested workers moving methodically from hole to hole with their shovels. Every time I pass them, it gives me a lift, not just because it means someday soon I'll start seeing flowers out in the real world, but also because potholes are one of those perfect reminders of what humans do. Playrooms, projects, and paperwork start out neat, but over time, weather, wear, gravity, and procrastination take their toll. No matter how strict the system, order gradually slides toward chaos. And then humans step in and make it right again.

I saw the cycle in action at the KidsOutAndAbout office last week: Our storage room had slowly become a museum of random supplies, half-filled bins, and Christmas decorations that had been tossed in with a hopeful Future Us will deal with this someday. Fortunately, my colleague Michelle, who works in our data department, is also a genius organizer. A few hours after Future Michelle stepped in and applied logic and elbow grease, the little room had transformed from a cluttered cave into a serene space.

The quickening of the seasons seems to bring that same energy into our homes: Closets get sorted, garages get swept, junk drawers finally meet their match. It feels good, not just because the space looks better, but because fixing things reminds us of something important: Disorder is normal, but it’s not permanent. Humans can step in and bring brightness back.

So here’s to spring cleaning, organized shelves, and freshly patched roads.

Our tires, and our spirits, roll much more smoothly because humans fill potholes.

—Debra Ross, publisher of KidsOutAndAbout.com, co-author of The Eclipse Effect: How to Seize Extraordinary Moments to Build Strong Communities

KidsOutAndAbout.com: Discover more. Do more. Connect more.

If you like my publisher's column, you can easily scroll through past columns in the "Notes from Deb" section of our site.

• Story Time at Morton Museum of Collierville History - Morton Museum of Collierville History - 196 N Main St, Collierville, TN 38017, Saturday, March 14, 10:30 am
• 5 Fridays of Jazz - (Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library) - Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library - Memphis Public Library - 3030 Poplar Ave Memphis, TN, 38111, Friday, March 13, 6:30pm - 8pm
• Every Saturday, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is FREE from 10am - 12pm! - 1934 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104, Saturday, March 14, 10am - 12pm
• Super Saturday - Cherry Blossom Collage - Memphis Brooks Museum of Art - 1934 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104, Saturday, March 14, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
• 53rd Annual Silky Sullivan St. Patrick's Parade - Beale Street - Memphis, Saturday, March 14, 2:00pm
• Project Grow (all ages) - Dixon Gallery and Gardens - Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Saturday, March 14, 1pm-3pm
• Mardi Growl at Overton Bark - Overton Park - Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN, Saturday, March 14, 11am - 2pm