There's No Rushing

February is a month of patience and nourishment

There is a reason February is about nourishment. These days, the stores of our veggies, vitamin D, and the mundane routine of the winter have taken hold. I guess you could say this is when the rubber meets the road in our winter endurance work. Even with the milder (hello, 55 degrees this week!!!) and the appearance of sunshine here and there, there is a settling in and feeling the itch like an old sweater that can begin to happen when February comes around, particularly when the snow is low, icy, and we don’t have the usual winter activity to pull on to shift perspective. I realize that winter is a time of reflection and dreaming but also of being out in the weather and elements moving, sweating, gliding, and moving, so when these things are harder or not possible, I tend to feel the urgency for spring to come instead of just being present in the month and season I am in.

Winter is a season of resilience, patience, routine, and begging us to find magic in places we don’t have the option to in other seasons. In other seasons, the magic comes easier in the form of dips in the lake, harvests of vegetables, the shifting color of leaves, or the beautiful tender site of the first broad bean or crocus.

Yes, even those of us who enjoy winter can still long for the routines to change, the leaves to emerge again, and to start seeing the world around us change. February is usually when I note how complacent and comfortable I have become with the landscape and the routines of winter. This can be in a really good way and in a way where I can feel the staleness and stiffness that can form when we aren’t shifting and changing as much.