Dear March - come in...

Happy Monday!  I shouldn't be so surprised at how quickly the weekend flies by and another Monday arrives, but somehow I always am.  And not only did the weekend pass quickly but we also got to say a cheerful ta ta and fare thee well to February.  Oh, February--even your short 28 days were simply too much to bear this winter!  As soon as I turned my calendar over on Saturday to March, it became apparent there are several things to look forward to this month, which will hopefully lead us one baby step at a time closer to spring.  And speaking of baby steps (do you like how I worked that in?) according to the calendar it's now just TEN WEEKS until I become a grandmother!  

And my son has successfully assembled his first crib!!

Apart from all things baby, what else am I looking forward to in March?  There's St. Patrick's Day, which I always love to celebrate with "leprechaun soup" and Irish soda bread, followed by watching "Darby O'Gill and the Little People".  And I have a slight confession to make, as my kids are probably old enough now to know the truth.  The leprechaun soup?  It's really just cheesy vegetable soup, sneakily renamed in order to entice you to eat some vegetables!  Perhaps I can also sweet talk my husband into watching "The Fighting Prince of Donegal" as well, and then end the evening with an Irish reel, if Darby will consent to play his fiddle...

And since I'm the daughter of a Hoosier, and also a graduate of Kansas University, basketball is in my blood, which makes March Madness a nice follow up to St. Paddy's day...

Which in turn is followed by International Happiness Day, which is something to smile about (pun intended)!

And speaking of happiness, I'm sharing a poem today about how happy Emily Dickinson was to see March arrive.  I guess she had experienced a wearisome February as well!

Dear March - Come in -

How Glad I am -

I hoped for you before -

Put down your Hat -

You must have walked -

How out of Breath you are -

Dear March, how are you, and the Rest -

Did you leave Nature well -

Oh March, Come right up stairs with me -

I have so much to tell -

I got your Letter, and the Birds -

The Maples never knew that you were coming -

I declare - how Red their Faces grew -

But March, forgive me -

All those Hills you left for me to Hue -

There was no Purple suitable -

You took it all with you -

Who knocks? That April.

Lock the Door -

I will not be pursued -

He stayed away a Year to call

When I am occupied -

But trifles look so trivial

As soon as you have come