February. Common Year. 28 days. All other months have 2 or 3 additional days. Wonder how that sits with February. How does February feel about being the shortest month? Do the other months tease it, call Feb “Shorty”? Maybe they ask it if it wants a date or has a free weekend. If they have a calendar party, would it be cruel to schedule it on the 30th? If a month can have a complex, my guess February is the prime candidate.
February has the fewest total birthdays. That would make February the least celebrated month. The other eleven DID let Febby have TWO Presidents’ birthdays to make up for it. No other month has even one Prez’ b-day celebrated and there are forty-two more possibilities! Question: Can you be short and still be presidential?
The event for which the 2nd month of the year is most widely known is, of course, Valentine’s Day. Big build up of attention and anticipation leading up to the 14th. Florists and Hershey join in the hype. Hallmark, too. Jewelers also add to the mid-month holiday enthusiasm. The heart was selected as the symbol for this “love fest”, and I wonder if Feb wears it on its sleeve? Like brothers teasing a younger sister, I can hear July, August, October and the others asking, “Who’s your ‘little’ Valentine, February?”
Every fourth year February gains another 24 hours. Leap Year. A Leap Day is added, making February 29 days long. Cause celebre for February! Perhaps it gets excited, feels like it’s growing and is NOW a little more like the others. “Hey April…I’m catchin’ you! You, too, June!” When the next year rolls out, is there an equal amount of disappointment for F-Bru when it falls back to 28 days? Might April & June retaliate, give back some “friendly” monthly ribbing? “Hey short stuff….better luck next year!” “You’re too short to hang with us!”
It’s GOT to be hard being February. Besides lacking in days, an inordinate amount of people misspell and mispronounce its name. They leave out the first “r” and refer to it as Feb uary. Like Jan uary. NOBODY likes having their name botched. That’s personal. Uncaring. Frustrating! Just ask Sherry, Sharry, Shery, Shary, Sherri, Sheri, Shari, Sharie or Sharee!
Another thing that has got to be tough is that when February is over, it gets Marched on. For 31 days! It gets treaded on…and not lightly! Those green-clad folks on the 17th have TONS of parades. And they party HEARTY with St. Patrick. They step out and step ON little Feb. It takes NINE months for the bruises to go away until the next calendar comes out!
Who knows what it’s like being the month of February? It’s number two EVERY year. Does it try harder? Well…we know it does on Leap Year. My guess is February has accepted its fate and rather than fighting it, just makes the best of it. My hope is that February considers itself special, holds its page high and doesn’t focus on NOT having 30 or 31 days, rather it takes pride in having JUST 28 days! I also hope that none of the other months reveal they, too, have 28.