It is the middle of March and we are experiencing a rainy spell this week. Our weather has not been bad this winter, we’ve gotten some rain, mixed in with sunshine. Our hills are very green with all of the new vegetation and I see more wild flower blooming each week, along our trail and the highways. On the clear days, I notice the flowers, and buds and blossoms on trees as plant life soaks up the rain and sunshine.  Little reminders that spring is starting, at least in our part of the country.

The month of February is winding down, with an extra day added for the leap year. In many places in the US, winter still has a hold, with snowy weather, freezing temperatures and few or no signs of spring.

It’s the middle of February and time for more holidays. There is Valentine’s day, a holiday to share love in many different ways. So Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone and may you have a good day to celebrate those people in your life that you love.

Happy New Year! It is now time to celebrate new beginnings while learning to write out the shiny new year of 2020. I still think that September seems like a better time for celebrating the start of a new year. Or spring also seems like a better time, with new growth and the start of new life. With cold weather and short days, it seems hard to get excited about starting fresh, especially after a busy holiday season. Yet somehow we manage to get excited and plan for the start of new adventures, work, romances and other stuff.

The year is drawing to a close, the nights growing ever longer as the days grow shorter. The winter solstice is almost upon us, just one of many holidays people celebrate this time of year. These celebrations, Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve are examples of diversity while sharing the goals of celebrating light, hope and kindness during a dark time of the year.

The topics for my blogs are planned out in advance, with a faint hope that I might work ahead instead of scribbling something out the night before. My son and I are collaborating on topics and this week he suggested the theme of birthday, specifically my birthday.

With some time off, I find myself wanting to write an extra piece for the holiday. WInter isn’t quite here, but there are shorter days and longer nights. With less sunshine, more darkness and cold, it can sometimes be hard to remember brighter times. The holidays help, with the gathering of family and friends, yet there are still times when that absence of light starts to seem like a lack of hope. negative associations with winter. We may wonder if the weather will ever warm and if spring will come again.

I’m writing this post on a quiet November evening, working to find words. Rain is drumming down on the roof, the first winter storm of the season, and I find myself relaxing in spite of stress at my day job. I am ready for a rest and next week I will take a few days off to spend time at home with my family.