Despite the bad rap that March often gets I have a certain fondness for this month. No other month has two lovely creatures associated with it: lion and lamb. Oh, sure, February has a weather-forecasting rodent with an unpronounceable name but that hardly compares.
March holds the promise, often sadly overstated, that spring is indeed somewhere, somewhere in the not-too-distant future. As I write this we’ve finally hit a positive single digit temperature somewhere above “Oh my God, It’s cold”. There’s snow melting and sloppy roads and gravelly puddles of muddy water. The detritus of a long brutal winter is slowly being exposed and it ain’t pretty.
The sudden melt can also be quite dangerous. About ten years ago I fell in a parking lot, got soaked in the puddle hiding the ice below, and set in motion the need for my eventual shoulder surgery.
But in our little hearts we note that, barring a major calamity of some kind, we can take credit for having survived another winter. we’re proud, dammit. And resilient. For the last five months we’ve tried to keep our moaning in check. Occasionally we say stupid things like ?at least It’s a dry cold.? I’ve been around long enough to know that March will wallop us at least one more time before It’s over.
Speaking of being around, March is also my birth month, making me a Pisces. This year was one of those benchmark birthdays and I declined when the kids offered to make a party. Instead, our immediate family had a nice meal in an expensive restaurant a week before the big day. On the sixth, we went to my sister’s for supper. Without our knowledge, she invited a handful of friends to help celebrate this passage. It was a fun evening that included great food and some gifts and a recitation of everyone’s ailments and upcoming doctor appointments. One friend just lost his mother two days earlier so we’re reminded that every day above ground is a good one despite our complaints and worries and the date on our driver’s license.
March is also famous for International Women’s Day and World Day of Prayer. On March 8th the business supply store in town, Staples, surprised the first 50 female customers with a red rose and packet of Post-its. Everyone got ten percent off everything in the store. Because we were shopping for a new wireless router and printer this was good news. I love stationary so a colourful cube of sticky notes warms my heart. Popping the rose into a bud vase brings a splash of colour and a hint of spring within reach on my desk.
But March is also crazy busy. It’s spring convention month and AGMs for various non-profits are sprouting like weeds. It’s also grant-writing season and I have three more to finish. Appointments with doctors, bankers, and lawyers also loom. No one can accuse March of being dull, from where I sit.
Hazel Anaka’s first novel is Lucky Dog. Visit her website for more information or follow her on Twitter @anakawrites.
