Saturday, February 28, 2015

10 Things About February that Don't Make Me Want to Cry

February is a curse word I growl between clenched teeth.

I do not believe I am being overly dramatic in this. February has always been and always will be the very worst month. Even the kids agree:
We are FebruWEARY.

Every year, winter arrives sometime between turkey dinners and Christmas checklists and I am so distracted by the festivities that I barely seem to notice the frigid temperatures, and all the twinkly lights perfectly ameliorate the sad fact that the sky is now pitch black at 5:00pm.

In January reality starts to set in and I put on a brave face, but by February I just want to curl up in a ball on the floor and cry until the sun comes back out, which hardly ever works.

But I am not going rant about how much I hate winter, because I am a firm believer in never complaining and only focusing on the positive and besides, I already wrote that post last year.



Therefore, in a valiant effort to remain unwaveringly optimistic, I have compiled a list of all of my favorite things about February. I was originally hoping to write something beautifully Voskampian like "1000 Gifts of February," but I could barely just make it to 10.

10 Things About February that Don't Make Me Want to Cry

10. Fresh snow
There is nothing quite as beautiful as freshly fallen snow. It looks pretty in all the pictures. It's like, the ultimate filter.

I know my northern friends might be sick to death of snow by now, but here in North Carolina it usually doesn't snow until February. A February snowfall is nature's way of saying "hey, I'm sorry I killed everything, including part of your soul, but here is some fresh white change of scenery to make up for it."

We'll take it.




9. Spending less money
I have noticed my trips to Target have dramatically decreased due to the effort it requires to get the kids bundled up and out of the house. It turns out, if we stay home, the bank account stays full! No wonder my husband isn't nearly as bothered by February as I am.
Of course, I probably should have bought a sled. 

8. No more stressful resolutions
By this point we have all given up on those pesky new year's resolutions, so we can happily fall back into bad habits without guilt or remorse. I'm sure I will magically be swimsuit ready by summer somehow or another. In the meantime go ahead and pass the Chinese...

7. School cancellation can inspire a spontaneous Bring Your Kid to Work Day

It was hands-down Jack's favorite day of February. He said he liked the day he and Daddy built a snow fort too, but they made him his own special name tag at Daddy's store, so clearly that took work to the next level. 

6. Plenty of time to potty train

I suppose this is only a good thing about February if the potty training is successful, which in our case it was! FINALLY. I will pause here for clapping and confetti. I guess the 14th time is the charm!
Also, it seems chewing gum is a powerful motivator.
5. Spending quality time together and learning valuable lessons in cooperation, patience and sharing
That was the best way I could think to say "Holy moly, we've been stuck inside for what feels like an eternity and I need to turn off the TV now because I'm not sure how many shows I can let them watch and still be considered a good mom, but I think we are approaching whatever point that may be, so we'd better make the best of our time together and find something to do that will cause the least amount of screaming and fighting."


4. Spending EVEN MORE quality time together

We have taken more baths this month than we did all of last summer.

3. Seriously, we've done ALLTHETHINGS together. 
I found them all in the shower together and this is exactly what Jack is saying: "You don't need to take 1000 pictures of us, Mommy. You know you see us every day."

The next day I found them on top of the fridge.
Please, Jesus, send spring.
2. Fire 
Or maybe number 2 should be Episodes of Downton Abbey on TV. I don't know. It's a tie. Roaring fires are really fun, but the roaring twenties in class-divided Britain is equally as fun. I think I will just make sure to always watch episodes of Downton Abbey in front of a cozy fireplace.

1. IT'S ALMOST SPRING!!!!
Hang in there, friends!! FEBRUARY IS ALMOST OVER!!! SPRING IS NEAR!!! The calendar says so!!

We are tired of winter, we are ready for spring. Even as I type these words I can feel the weariness of winter pressing down on me, and yet, my pictures seem to tell a different story.

In all the 1,000 (alleged) photos I have taken this month, not a single one makes me feel weary. I do feel lots of other things though. I feel overcome by the beauty of the snow. I feel deeply grateful for my precious family and I already feel nostalgic as I look at their 3 little faces and know that that these moments will never be repeated at these ages and all that's left of this month are these mementos frozen in time. 

I mean, I still think February is a curse word. 

But it's also kind of a blessing too.




Wait. Did I just call Februweary a blessing?

Oh dear. Please do not hold me accountable for anything I write in the winter.

Come on, Spring!