I posted as my status on Facebook that February was the shortest month, but also the longest month.
It is so true for us here in Massachusetts, where winter sets in around November at the latest, and we see snow in October as a rule. I remember speaking with a teacher friend Beth Lewis who said that she used to tell people not to make any career decisions in February. The yearning for change in general is simply too great and can be inappropriately felt as job dissatisfaction.
Today is a nice day here. Much of the snow that we got last week has melted, although it would be silly to assume that more isn’t on the way. The birds are singing like someone has invited them to a party.
It is definitely a party that I want to join.
Sometimes I think that is the trouble with being human. I have just enough memory to remember warm weather, but not enough to create a feeling of comfort that it will come back again.
Same thing with this housing slump or bubble, and the surrounding recession- or however you want to categorize it. This winter of economy has created, in me and in others, this same February feeling except over a longer period of time. It doesn’t matter how many times I read about the cyclical nature of the economy; it doesn’t matter how well I remember my (now) ex almost losing his business during the last downturn; it doesn’t matter that I KNOW that if you are in business you look inept during a recession and a genius when the economy is great- there is still this feeling of wanting it to be over.
So what is faith? Is it the ability to tap into the knowledge of the cyclical nature of things and use that knowledge as a rope to pull yourself to the next peak? How do birds know when it is time to sing, or is it always time to sing?
Looking at economic trends, perhaps things are starting to pick up. New short term mortgage delinquency rates have fallen – and this is a good sign, since delinquency rates closely follow joblessness.
So this is February. I need to keep remembering that it can only get warmer.
