Rough Month

 February used to be the month of birthdays!  

Grandma Greta's birthday was February 17, 1903.  It was always fun to celebrate with her.

Mom's birthday was February 21, 1926.  Just a few days after Grandma's and sometimes we would celebrate both together.

Carol, my cousin, has a birthday at the end of the month, and when we were little, I remember celebrating her birthday too.  

Then when I married into the Siemens family, we added two more February birthdays.  Agnes was born on February 4, 1930.   Gary's aunt Ann was born on February 14.  I am not sure of the year of her birth, but she was older than Leo.  

As time went on, February 17 took on another very special meaning.  It was the day that Hilary and Blaine picked up Landon from the foster family in Portage.  That day in 2010 was the first time I held my first grandson.  It was so special!  I remember being so excited and not wanting to miss it. I had a class that night and Beth Dean subbed for me so I could be at Leo and Agnes' house to greet him for the first time.  

So why is this a rough month?  One by one the women celebrating February birthdays have left us.  Ann died on my birthday in 2000.  Grandma Greta died while the girls were still in school, probably in 1994 or so.  Mom died in May 2017.  Agnes died in November 2016.  

It is just sad that a month that was full of celebrating mothers, grandmothers, and an aunt is empty of birthday cards and celebrations now.  I remember going shopping in January and buying all of the cards needed for the month of February.  On more than one occasion it was mentioned at checkout that we must be celebrating a lot of birthdays soon, and I would comment that it seemed like all of the women in the family had been born in February.

Maybe I should shift my focus to one of celebration and remembrance.  Instead of feeling sad about this, I should remember what role these women had in our lives, some of the times we celebrated, and stop being so sad about everything.  Sounds like a better idea, doesn't it?