The Polar Intuit of northwest Greenland, the northernmost people, call February ‘seqinniaq’, “the month when the sun appears. ― Fred Bruemmer
Yes, February brings lengthening days and in Pittsburgh, we will gain an additional 66 minutes of daylight this month! Woot! If that does not lighten one’s spirit, I don’t know what will!
So what do I want to accomplish this month? Or what do I want to try? I have a few ideas that have been rattling around my head… some for a very long time. Maybe this is the month to set them loose and see where they go!
Of course, there will be February Stitching. I am really enjoying this addition to my morning routine. It is quiet, inspiring, and after the long days of January… it very much feels like a ritual now. I begin thinking about what I might stitch each day as I brew my coffee.
February circles
There is one other new-ish thing I have added to my year… a reimagined gratitude journal. I have tried and failed so many times at a “gratitude list” journal. But this year, I wanted some of my time to be focused on gratitude and late last year I had a bit of a gratitude epiphany. I wondered if having a bit of a gratitude conversation with myself… not a list, but something more thought-provoking… and yes, self-conversational… that’s a thing, at least for me! Anyways, my hope is that I will be able to go back and read my conversations on bleak days where gratitude seems impossible… and find a bit of gratitude from the past to hold on to! I began quietly in January… I wrote just eleven entries but those eleven conversations… well, they were powerful… thought provoking… and they have lingered with me well past the writing! I hope that February builds on those eleven days and takes off in a good way!.
Finally… this month I want to spend some time de-cluttering/re-organizing my kitchen cupboards. We have limited space in the kitchen and a few… several… most cupboards that have things in them that are never, ever used. Those things need to find new homes and usher in a reclamation/reorganization of space. But… I have been thinking about this for a long time and this month I am going to implement my ideas! And maybe I will no longer have to lug things up and down from the basement!
A small list… a small(ish) month… but these are big intentions!
But February made me shiver… — Don Mclean, American Pie
As I put this look back together Don Mclean’s song kept echoing in my head. A melancholy song for a melancholy month… a month of some hard emotional lifting. A month that the weather, miraculously, matched my mood.
But as I look back, I see glimmers of hope… increasing daylight, a gift of flowers that remind me how very much I am loved, a brilliant young poet who speaks to my heart, not one but two finished objects, and a wee doggy who is simply the best companion – especially on the hard days. Oh, and the snowdrops closed out the month, gently reminding me that these melancholy days are not permanent.
In looking back at February, I am grateful it is not a longer month! However, I am appreciative of the lengthening days! In twenty-nine short days, we gained over an hour of daylight!
And, there was so much more sunshine this month than in January, but we also had a good bit of precipitation – both rain and snow.
I continued to track the temperature in my area which continues to shock me…we had 1 day in the 60’s, 7 days in the 50’s, 14 days in the 40’s, 8 days in the 30’s, and just 2 days in the 20’s. I wonder if all those knitting Tempestry Projects are feeling as I do (and if they have run out of warmer colors yet!)
The Best Part of the Month:
Flowers…inside and out! And, my wee little snow drops weathered February and are still hanging in there as March begins!
Something New:
There was a new thing this month… on the spur of the moment we decided to head to New Cumberland, WV to visit Mountaineer Casino. And, it was a productive trip in that left the casino with more than we came with! (And, we also visited the Fiesta Outlet and left some of our winnings there…as you can see on the 25th)
Best “Oh, Wow” Moments:
I had worried after losing our Knitting Leader in January that our little knitting group would fall apart. I have stepped in to the “leader” role (if you can call it leader – I actually just send out the text message reminding everyone that it’s Knit Night Day and ask who is joining me!) However, I have grown our little group by one and I am working on recruiting some more to join us. I have also become the “fixer of dropped stitches” and the “finder of free patterns.” And honestly? Any time I spend in my local library makes me so happy. It is a place I truly love.
What I did Well and What I can do Better:
In February I made a concerted effort to “love myself.” And, I did so with my “public ready” (read with makeup!) face as well as my “private” (read no makeup!) face. To start the month, it was not easy at all, but it did get easier as the month moved along. I can stand here today and tell you than I am worth the effort it took!
However, the days of moping are over and so are the days of not moving my body. Yes… I did not walk or do any Pilates for the entire month. So, while I worked on loving myself, I did not engage my physical self at all. In hindsight, moving my body might have helped me love my emotional self more easily.
And there you have my February, over in the blink of an eye! What was your best February Moment?
February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March. ~J.R. Stockton
It has been a long time since I have done any monthly reviews here, but I am trying a new format to go with my “new to me” way to save something special each day. This format is helping me remember to take a picture and record a few seconds to preserve the moments of the day.
Looking back at February, I am struck by two things: how much snow we got and how much sunshine there was!
And when you think about life – it is that finite balance that we might not even be aware of that makes things more tolerable.
And, yes – this month seemed so much more manageable than January, which seemed to drag on forever! February, was indeed just long enough!
