I thought my days would be slower somehow, that time would would not “fly by” once I retired. It seems the opposite is true. Today is Leap Day, February 29. I don’t get the math or the science behind the reasons for this additional day added to the calendar every four years–or even why February has to be the shortest day of the year with only 28 days. Someone with a more scientific and mathematical brain will have to suffice.

In spite of being a short month, it has been a full month. I am thankful for the gifts that this month has brought me:

1. The Making Kin through Photography practice circle hosted on the Kinship website. The eleven people in the group have been so kind and supportive, and I have eased back into a photography practice. I am taking more (short) walks and exploring the land where I live. In the coming months, I want to expand my walks to include exploration of the state park system with the goal of earning the Ultimate Outsider status.
2. Lent. I know, it sounds odd, but Lent and Advent are my two favoriate liturgical seasons. To me, Lent is not a time of “giving up” something. It is more reflective than that. It is a time of introspection and a time of slowing down, even as it seems that Nature is speeding up.
3. Cherry blossoms and camelias. The cherry tree is in full bloom, and it is beautiful! I have been photographing the cherry at least once a week since October, watching it as it turned from green to orange and red to bare branches and now to white. By next week, it will be green! My photography practice has made me mindful of the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle changes in this tree!
4. Moments of sun and days of rain. There is something about winter rain. It is darker and heavier than summer rain, but when the sun shines, it is glorious. Is the sunshine after a winter rainy day brighter and the air clearer than in summer? It seems so to me.

February is the big birthday month in my family: two of my uncles and my brother, sister, and I all have birthdays this month. One of my uncles and I share a birthday. As a friend from school puts it, we are birthday twins (that friend also shares a birthday with me; we are also birthday twins. I need to ask him where he was born. It would be quite the coincidence if we shared the same hospital nursery!). I am thankful for all the birthday wishes I received, and I am especially thankful that I could spend the day with my grandson. There is nothing quite like getting a birthday hug from a two year old!