...the winter of our discontent...

Many people detest February.

I do not know how I have come to live on this planet for as long as I have without making this revelation sooner.

We have barely crossed the threshold of this new month and my eyes and ears are already being inundated with slanderous accounts of February's supposed wrong doings -
* It has a preposterous number of days for, seemingly, no reason. Also, that this is the month that has been earmarked as Black History Month brings about it's own problems. What exactly were the powers-that-be thinking with that one? Jim Crow, anyone?
* It has pointless holidays:
Groundhog Day? Why? Who chose groundhogs, of all things?
Valentine's Day? People are either entirely behind this celebration of love or they are single.
President's Day? You would think that Washington and Lincoln were the only two presidents our country has ever had. Did you know that William Henry Harrison and Ronald Reagan were also born in February? I didn't think you did.
* It is often the coldest of the winter months. This seems to also incite people to riot.
* Why does no one know how to pronounce Feb-RU-ary correctly?

I am not a member of this anti-February movement.

It humors me that February has an obscure number of days.
And, just for the record, I think Black History Month is a fantastic thing and was a tremendous deal when I was in school back East but, I have noticed, is met with much less celebration here in the mid-west.

I don't think I will ever understand the point of Groundhog Day but do I really need to understand it?
Shadow-smadow. Sometimes traditions are just what they are. Unless someone has asked you to pull a groundhog from it's burrow, why are you so concerned?

I am a single person and I kind of like Valentine's Day.
Maybe it's because I'm a teacher.
Maybe it's just because I like candy.
Maybe we should just love each other all the days and everyone should just buy me candy and shut up about Cupid.
That fat baby is plain ridiculous.

To be completely honest, I have no feelings on President's Day.
Why should I?
Washington was a good president.
Lincoln was a good president.
William Henry Harrison was barely a president. Maybe if he had remembered to put on a coat for his inauguration he could have been a good president.
Reagan, also a good president.
Yay for presidents...and sales.
Boo for bank holidays and no mail.

People do realize that February is in winter, don't they?
If winter isn't your cup of tea, may I suggest relocating to a warmer climate?
Might I also remind you that complaining about the weather never actually changes the weather.

I do know how to pronounce Feb-RU-ary.
If you do not, sound it out.
Phonics are your friend.

So, for all you February haters, I leave you with this:
"February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March."
- Dr. J. R. Stockton

As I stumbled over that quote today, it began to stir some things inside me.
I find myself reading it over and over again.

...as long as is needed to pass the time until March.

So beautiful. So simple.

Perhaps we should stop being so discontent with the things we cannot chance about our situations.
We cannot get to the next springtime without first going through the winter.
Without the ice covered branches, how can we hope to appreciate the small green buds?
What would our lives be like if we stopped praying for March and started embracing our Februaries?

Perhaps this season will truly be the winter of our discontent.