Blessed February

We were blessed with the most beautiful month of February. It was unseasonably warm and we had only one event of "bad" weather that amounted to some accumulation and even that disappeared quickly. As February headed out all of the signs of Spring headed in, well ahead of schedule. Our mornings have the background music of birds chirping, our gray winter scenery has been infiltrated by green sprouting all around. Buds are fully formed and ready to burst. Our daffodils are up and open. Our neighbor's witch hazel is in full bloom. We have seen Vs of geese in the blue sky heading home from the short winter break. And this morning we were greeted with the refreshing scent of spring rain, everything was wet and vibrant as hidden colors came out of waiting.

The girls enjoyed the weather full force with lots of afternoons outside. Emma walked home from school in bare feet and declared that it was definitely spring, even if the calendar said February. We spent one Saturday biking the school parking lots and hanging out on the playground. Bridget and the little cousins have had lots of opportunities to practice swinging skills in the backyard. Bridget has it figured out and is enjoying being the oldest and most capable. It is new for her to have kids ask her to show them how to do things and she does it kindly. I don't know what March will hold as far as weather goes but I hope the blessing continues.

I hope it continues because of an encounter I had with an elderly man as I shopped in January for Megan's birthday party. It was a colder day and he was moving along the aisles in a way that brings to mind the word puttering. I spoke with him briefly and he shared he prayed it wouldn't get cold this winter. I made some generic conversational reply. He went on to say that they only had a little heating oil left and no money to buy more. We parted with pleasantries as my shopping drew me away but he has stayed with me.


Stories on the nightly news about the rise in the cost of heating oil on the east coast grabbed my attention. A news story on NPR about the cutting of heating oil subsidies to the poor stuck in my head. The man's worried weathered expression has stayed with me. My family felt blessed with a mild February but the blessing we are experiencing doesn't compare to the answered prayer of an old man at the grocery store who is trying to stay warm. For him I pray that the Spring takes hold and doesn't let go till summer.