February has never been my favorite month of the year.  Actually, no winter month is a favorite of mine.  But, in New England where I come from, February is notoriously known as ‘flu month’ and ‘storm/nor’easter/frigid-cold month’.  That’s not a good combination.  And to boot, it has another – an extra day this month.  2020 is Leap Year!  Oh, no!

I have always said that if only I could turn into a bear and hibernate my way through February – just sleep. I could wake up to March – really not any or much better weather-wise than February in MA, but at least it would be one less month I would not have to deal with cleaning not inches, but feet of snow (at times) off my car, scraping ice from my windows, and having to let my car heat up.  That would all be in order to then proceed getting stuck in the snow because it didn’t get plowed or shoveled well enough – or travel on a two lane road that has been reduced to one lane (just no where to plow all the snow back).  Then with snowbanks so high making it nearly impossible to get out of parking lots or make a turn onto another street, February is just not my month.  Never having done winter sports (so don’t like the cold), I don’t like it – I’m not into it! . . .

. . . Except! – for maybe two or three reasons I end up embracing February.  Every. Single. Year!  The first reason is – Geoff, my first-born – a wonderful, loving, giving son.  All those years ago when I went for my 8^th month pregnancy check-up, the nurse looked at me and said rather wryly, “Some people plan their pregnancy, you know” – as much as to say, ‘why would anyone ever want to have a baby in February?’ (flu and blizzard month).  Well, I rejoiced at the birth of my first son – and every year when February rolls around, it brings back all that joy experienced in having a child come into the world.  The flu and blizzard month does give me joy!

Secondly, I embrace February with its being the month of my mother’s birthday.  A book could be written on Mama – such a complex woman.  But for the sake of this article, I’ll just say that she loved deeply.  Not with a demonstrative fuzzy-warm love, but a love that took action.  She put everyone else’s needs before her own; if she only had one coat and you needed it, she would have taken it off her back and given it to you.  She balanced being wife, mother, schoolteacher, choir member at church, a Sunday School teacher – and so much more.   She always loved it that her birthday was on George Washington’s birthday.  February is so worth going through just to have the mother I did.

And my third reason for embracing February is because it’s ‘LOVE’ month!  My heart and attention is turned to my family, of course, on Valentine’s Day, but as I grew older, my heart became even more and more filled with such a deep love for my Savior.  On more than one occasion, I put together a medley of songs for the offertory at my church on the Sunday closest to Valentine’s Day.  (Oh, How He Loves You and Me/I Love You, Lord (and I lift my voice)/Oh, How I Love Jesus, etc.)  What a perfect time of year to express our love for our Savior in such a beautiful and unique way.  So, Geoff, Mama and my Jesus make the dreaded February not so bleak anymore!  Bring it on February!!  There are so many more reasons to love you than there are to want to abandon you.