I just noticed my last post was commenting on how warm it was in December. So much for that! Now that it’s barely above zero where I live, it feels like a real February. I’ve found 
this a depressing month since my dad died in February many years ago. But on this sub-zero Valentine’s Day, I decided there are reasons why February is a good month, too (in addition to my niece Judy’s birthday!)
- The days are finally starting to get longer. When you have a long commute via car or train the late sunrises and early sunsets of winter in the north make each day a little grimmer. I noticed last week that the sun was up before 7 a.m., hooray! And the angle of the sun has changed, so there’s a pool of warm sunlight for the cat to lie in by late morning, and again in the afternoon on the other side of the condo. So he’s happy, too.
- Some of us get a long weekend. Not everyone gets Presidents Day as a holiday, but for those of us who do, it’s a welcome break in the long winter dreariness, without having to use a vacation day. Any long weekend is a good thing, even if you don’t go anywhere special.
- Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be about romance. I heard the other day that Valentine’s Day is the most popular day for pet adoption of the whole year! That’s a great way to show what love really means, by giving a home to a homeless pet. Also, we can all show some love to the other people in our lives who aren’t romantic partners. When I was younger I was sad if Valentine’s Day didn’t feature a date or a present, but now I like to think of all the kinds of love we give and get. As the Beatles song says, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
- It’s a short month, and it’s almost March. In the south, spring comes in March. Up here, not so much–we still have another month of cold and potential snow. But spring feels a lot closer than it did in December. I’m dreaming of forsythia and crocuses…
- I can’t think of another reason. But every good blogger knows that “five” and “seven” are magic numbers in blog post titles. So use your creativity and make up your own fifth reason. If it’s a good one, I’ll make it public.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
writinghersense 