February 2024

As I was leaving the grocery store last Monday, the cashier merrily called out, “Enjoy this glorious weather!” While I appreciated the heartfelt send off, I have to admit I cringed inside. 72 degrees in February in mid-Missouri isn’t glorious; it’s dangerous, at least by phenological standards. 

I was leafing through a magazine Sunday afternoon when I ran across an article about Mindful Gardening. My immediate reaction was a snarky comment about mindful being the latest empty pop culture buzz word.  My daughter immediately took issue with my remark, accusing me of not knowing what the word really meant. Having lived through the 60s, I assured her that I did indeed know the meaning – had in fact known it for 20 years before she was even born. But just to be on the safe side, I snuck a peak at today’s meaning and, of course, learned a few things.

We are having our typical February break from winter. The sun is shining and it’s even warm enough to trade the heavy winter coat for a light jacket. No matter what chores are looming inside, the pull is to be outdoors and in the garden. Obviously it isn’t time to plant (here in Missouri we are almost guaranteed another burst of winter soon), but it is a great time to plan. 

My five year old granddaughter came bursting into the house on Sunday as excited as I have ever seen her. In her hands she clutched a somewhat frazzled bouquet of tulips. “I bought them for you,” she said, “because you like flowers and I like pink.”  Moments later, the bouquet delivered, she was off on a five-year-old's important pursuit and I was left there thinking about how much love those eight pink tulips communicated.