Thirty days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31, except for February which has 28 except in leap year when it has 29.
We have all grown up with this little ditty or a version of it. We were taught the rhyme to learn how many days are in the month. Some of us were also taught the “knuckle” version. Make a fist. Start with the knuckle on your pointer finger as January and say your months as you touch a knuckle or the groove between the knuckles. On your end knuckle, you start the process backwards. Each month landing on a knuckle has 31 days and each one landing in a groove has 30. You just had to remember on February, it was only 28 days. Then of course, you have to remember that in Leap Year you add a day to February. That meant you had to divide the year by 4 and if it is divisible by 4 with no remainder, it is Leap Year.
Wow! Is it in wonder we grow up confused.
The one thing that has always amazed me is how long 31 days “feels”. Depending on the season, 31 days can feel like more or feel like less.
January – Long bitter cold days, icy winds. Dark by 6:00 and you want nothing more than to curl up with a good book in front of the fire. Those are the longest, darkest 31 days. They seem to stretch on and on. Snow…no snow…more snow…less snow. It just makes you shiver to think of that long set of 31 days.
March – Blustery days, but there is a warmth to the sun; a shine that perks you up. We are starting to think our spring thoughts…flowers blooming, kites flying, spring cleaning, yard work. It’s a time of rebirth. We are so excited to see March arrive and then before you know it POOF, it is gone.
May – A little more mellow than March because the sun is here to stay. We have the occasional rains to keep the grass green and the gardens growing. We celebrate our Mothers and what they mean to us. We purchase flowers to put on graves in remembrance of those gone on before. May is a calming month. We can sit outside in the late evenings, watching the lightning bugs as they dance across the lawn.
July – A time of picnics at the lake and vacations at the beach. July is fireworks, hotdogs, cold lemonade and watermelon. While we love July, we don’t always love the humidity. The heat can reach unbearable heights and you just want to be indoors. You find a place to cool off (a nice cool shower, laying over the air conditioning vents, standing in the open freezer). You just long for the days when the temperature will cool down some and you can get some relief from the heat.
August – While most of August is a repeat of July, we start to see some relief. The storms start brewing in the ocean as September and hurricane season starts approaching. We see a few days that are not quite as humid. As August rolls to a close and school starts, cooler evenings will occasionally come our way and we learn to appreciate August and her mild relief.
October – Oh, how we enjoy October’s warm days and cool nights. Fall is in the air. Apple butter is being made in old copper kettles. The old horse walks round and round processing the sugar cane for some good old sorghum. The leaves change their colors and provide a kaleidoscope of beauty. Pumpkin carving, cornstalks and gourds all bind together to make October a very special month.
December – The temperatures are in that bundling up stage again. But we brave the cold and the December winds as we scurry about preparing for the festive holiday season. Hustle and bustle is everywhere. Mankind is preparing to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We just don’t have enough time in the day to do everything we need to do. But we try anyway. Knowing that after the 25th, we can relax until next year. But then January rolls around and we are right back at it again for another year.
So where did March go? She has gone back into hibernation. But she will be back next year to bless us with the relief from another winter. So goodbye March. Thanks for bringing us through. We’ll see you again next year.
