February

The shortest month is the longest of the year. February, the last stage of the winter triathalon, is a test of endurance. With our heads down, we push forward, tapping into whatever energy reserves we can find to finish out the season.

Like soup gone cold, the joy has dissipated from winter. We are no longer entranced by falling snow, crackling fires, or waking to hoarfrost on the trees. The days string along in sameness, and we glide through them like ghosts in a fog. We’re haunted by our own inertia and the resolutions we made only a month ago.

The sky looks bruised. Our spirits rise and fall with the mercury. When it rains, we catch a heady whiff of damp earth and greenness surfacing. The bulbs next to the sidewalk push forward their promises. The trees bud with shy expectation. The fields are models of patience, biding their time.

I consider all of this as I wearily climb the stone steps to my house and put my key in the door. Beyond the gray, the chill, the fog, is something worth waiting for.

© 2006 Veronica McCabe Deschambault. All rights reserved.

February 7, 2006

Comments

[Lizzie]

Well, it sounds like winter in Belgium is just as dreary and never-ending as that in Minnesota.

And to think I came here willingly...

Ah, yes, but I'm leaving, and just as willingly...:-)!

What about you? When does your tenure expire?

[TB]

I'm sitting here in the airport reading your post, listening to Aimee Mann and nodding my head. Yes, yes and yes. Beautiful.

[Melanhead]

I love reading these - thank you thank you. It's almost here! And the days are getting longer. I remember the sun setting around 6pm during early February while I was in Amsterdam for a visit.

[wordgirl]

So true about February. Here in Texas, it acts like early Spring, but surprise freezes can kill the garden in one day. Last year, it snowed in March. You never know. Maybe that's why Valentine's Day is in February. A lame attempt to energize the last whimper of winter.

[Tigerlily]

[expels breath] Phoooooo... [loss for words]...

Beautiful post. I'm moved. I don't know what else to say.

[Angela]

Lovely use of language in this post. I've been lurking a while. You've captured so eloquently how I feel about this month.

Though this year I can't complain much. I live in the Midwest, where we had the warmest January on record.

Thank. God

[Denice]

I always thought that March was difficult, I expected it to be Spring, but really is was rainy, snowy and cold.

I agree, there is something about the end of one season that makes us eager for the next one to begin, we have had enough. It is not pleasant any longer.

I really love your writing.

[Flubberwinkle]

You make February look nicer!