It's February, and I already feel the year slipping away.
Okay... maybe it's a little early to start lamenting the year going by too fast, but I do often feel a sense of desperation for how time seems to disappear faster each year. Does anyone else out there reading this relate?
Something I've been doing for a few years now is recording life in journals/planners of a sort - something I create as I go. I tend to peter out by summer (which is a great disappointment when I look back at my journals), but each year I stick with it a little longer. Fortunately, I record stuff on my phone's calendar, so at least I can look back for the dates that important-to-me things happened. Being more of an optimist than not, every January I start a journal like this, and hope it will have staying power. One of these years, maybe...
While we've turned chilly again, and snow is in the forecast, it was unseasonably warm the first three days of February. Sunday was in the 50's and Monday was 68°F! In the sunroom on Groundhog Day, I enjoyed how glorious were the colors I was crocheting with, as I sat like a cat bathed in sunlight, basking in its warmth.
While true spring is a month and a half away on the calendar, and probably longer than that in temperatures, it was spring in my heart for a few days. All stresses melted away, as thoughts of what I might plant in the garden tickled my imagination.
While the month started out very nicely here, and in spite of crooning over how great the warmth felt, I am not ready for the busyness of spring. I have more cocooning to do. More cooking of hearty meals. More getting things in order, and house cleaning before we start traipsing in dirt and dust from outside all over again.
And breaking into all these pleasant things is the knowledge that there are many still suffering from hurricane damage in the southeast, and fire damage in California, and all kinds of pestilence and harms around the globe. I sometimes struggle when life is going well for me, knowing it is hard for others. Do you this too? It seems a form of survivor's guilt. Not productive except that it prompts me to pray and help when and how I can.
How is it in your corner of the world? Are you filled with the hope of coming spring, or struggling through the dreary cold of winter? Or somewhere in between? Every February I seem to find myself somewhere in between - this year glad for merely chilly temps instead of the bitter cold we had a few weeks ago; not wanting spring to come too early, but also eager to see things growing again.
As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night will never cease.
Genesis 8:22 (NASB)
February is pretty much always the worst month for me to deal with. Spring seems so far away and this year we're getting a lot more snow than we have in at least a couple of years. I am SO tired of cleaning the car off every time we have to go anywhere. This morning we had to be out before 9 to allow the snow removal people to do their thing. We stayed out for both breakfast and lunch, came home and they hadn't been here. Half an hour later we look out and there they are. Argh!!!!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about suffering some form of survivor's guilt, as well as so much concern over the political situation throughout the entire world. Difficult days indeed.
Mary Anne, it makes me feel cold to imagine going out in the early morning (or really any time) to clean snow off a car at this stage in life. You have my sympathies and admiration. You and RC are hardy people!
DeleteI love turning the page of the calendar to February. It is often a tease of spring for us southerners, but sometimes we get a good many warm sunny days to make it a big hooray, Then March comes along and rains on the parade or at least tries to blow us away. I have tried for many years now to embrace winter and do all the housekeeping, but every year when I turn that calendar page to February I realize I have failed once again. I just like long sunny days and warm too. As for busy, January was pretty doggone busy so I don't know if I got my winter rest or not. I think we have all felt the weight of the world lately.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're finding time to rest, or do anything that recharges you, Sandy. You have a lot on your plate (and heart).
DeleteHello, my friend. I also keep a planner. I have for years and years. I love the new year and all the blank pages! And yes! Yes to how quickly life is going! February...then March. April is Easter then May and might as well be summer! Slow down, please. I am with you. I am not done with all the cozy quite yet. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteBilli Jo, I want to love May, but yes - it can often feel like summer, so once I turn the April calendar page over, I'm psyching myself up for the heat.
DeleteFebruary here in north central Florida can be a mixed bag of warm days and cool nights, or cool days and nights, or warm days and warm nights! We never know! But we know it won't snow, that we do know! I have yet to put away my extra blankets and sweaters...they still feel good especially in the early morning hours and evening hours. But the afternoons have been rather warm and mostly sunny, and it gives me the feeling of spring around the corner and I'm beginning to think about flowers and leaves coming back on the few deciduous type trees we have. Most are pine or live oak or hollies that don't ever completely lose their leaves like the maples do, but still there are signs of spring and I'm ready for that. I enjoyed our much cooler winter than normal that we had here this year, but I am ready for spring...just wish we could skip right over summer and get back to fall, however. Summer here in Florida is never very pleasant to me. Too hot, too muggy, too buggy! LOL. But we are very thankful for central AC that keeps us cool, calm, and collected, as long as we don't have to work outside for long! I am thankful for this season of in between and will try to make it last as long as possible!
ReplyDeleteI so relate to that last line, Pam. I always try (in my mind, anyway) to make spring and fall last as long as possible. :D It never works, though. Those beautiful seasons ignore my wishes and just fly right by.
DeleteI do feel that time flying sensation, more and more. But it means winter passes faster, so there's that.
ReplyDeleteThere IS that. LOL, Liz. About now, I start being grateful for every non-snowy/icy day, knowing that soon I won't have to think about it anymore - until next winter.
DeleteI quite like winter so I’m not in a rush for spring. I fully hibernate in January but can socialise on zoom calls with other spinners. February those calls reduce and I start thinking about spring cleaning, cleaning the greenhouse and pots, tidying up the garden and starting to plan my vegetable planting, I’ve just stopped watching the news now, I’m powerless to have any influence on so much of what is going on it’s just depressing to hear it, so I’ve stopped listening, watching and reading it. Liz
ReplyDeleteLiz, ever since Hub retired, I have felt more ease over winter. We tend to schedule appointments in the afternoon when we can - just in case winter weather makes roads more treacherous. After the sun has shone for a few hours, roads are often better to drive on. And stocked up on food, we can typically just cocoon when the weather turns bad. I do love a pretty snow when I don't have to get out on the road. Mostly, anymore I worry about my sons driving on slick roads back and forth to work. Come spring, I feel the relief of not having to think about that for the next 8 months or so.
DeleteI imagine if everyone just took a break from the news, we would all be a lot healthier - in mind, spirit, and body.
I keep a planner that has room for not only a calendar but to-do lists and such. Without it I would never achieve anything. And I do keep it going the full year. With our health struggles here - and the multitude of doctor appointments - it is a MUST. I am also a lover of winter - I know I am in the minority on this. Although I will say as I have gotten older the cold is harder to manage. But I do agree on the speed of time and the passing of months in the blink of an eye - or so it seems!
ReplyDeleteElaine, I can see how a planner would be invaluable with all you have to keep track of. If I had to keep track of the things you do, I'm sure I'd use mine differently than I do. When I started keeping a journal/planner it was with the hope that I would be more productive. I wish I could say it has that effect on me, but hasn't - too much. I still like keeping one for the sake of being able to look back when I want to remember when something happened, though. And, sometimes, looking back through notes can make me appreciate how much I did accomplish.
DeleteYour post today makes me think about many things. First, I enjoy the colder months, probably because we don't have harsh winters in Middle Tennessee, and I love the occasional snow we get. I appreciate spring -- the flowers, etc. -- but I don't like yard work (have the opposite of a green thumb) and as spring nears, I know I will feel guilty (again) for not being out there planting and growing! Also, regarding your calendar, my wife keeps one similar to yours and when I get a non-work invitation or scheduling request, I simply go to her and ask if I am available! Comes in very handy. Finally, I love the passage from Genesis, which I am sure the writer of the hymn "Great is They Faithfulness" was inspired by . . . "Summer and winter, seedtime and harvest; sun, moon and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love!" Amen!
ReplyDeleteBob, while snow in early spring (especially April) is rare here, I always enjoy it when it happens because I know it will be gone very shortly, and there isn't likely to be any lengthy chill downs. I wonder if that is what it's like getting snow in Middle Tennessee with your milder winters.
DeleteIt's pretty cold here Becki but like you although I love the warmer weather, I'm not quite ready for all the work involved with Spring. I keep a diary and have them going back to 2000, just this year I have started going through them and recording only the important bits in a book and then tearing them up. I still have a long way to go most of it is boring stuff and I don't know why I have recorded it maybe just to try and catch the passage of time. I don't want to leave all these ramblings behind when I go and that's why I am getting rid, who wants to know that I cleaned the bedrooms and went shopping. I am writing in a journal app on my phone just now not everyday just when there's something to write about, you can include photos as well which makes it more interesting.
ReplyDeleteLinda, your diaries make me think of Commonplace books. When I see these being shown online, I think it's a lovely idea, but I'm pretty sure I would end up doing what you do with your diaries. I, too, sometimes record things like household tasks, errands or noting a phone conversation - especially, with someone far away, or that I don't talk to very often. It's helpful on occasion to look back and see when I last talked to someone, but I imagine it would be dreary information to come across in someone's journal when they're gone. If commonplace books were common, I wonder if the majority of them got tossed after their owners died.
DeleteFor the most part, I can enjoy winter . . . except for the fact that I worry about my mom if there is any ice or snow because she feeds a whole colony of cats on her deck. This new stage of life brings worries that I had never considered before. This stage also comes all of the responsibility but none of the authority. Lest I sound too complain-y, I am grateful that we don't typically have lots of ice or snow in our region, and I am grateful for grace for the day.
ReplyDeleteComing back from the rabbit trail 😉 . . . I rather enjoy winter. Even so, I love to see Spring blooms and color arrive after several months of gray!