I am so glad it isn't February any more. I don't know why, but I am always ready for February to be over. It seems to be a month of waiting, and as an impatient person who wants timelines and schedules and boxes to check off, I hate waiting. This February was about waiting for Kate to finish getting her fourth wretched molar in two months, waiting to be done with a series of visits to the dentist that I dreaded days in advance, being sick and waiting to get better, feeling like the wait to see progress in my growth toward patience is a total lost cause and, of course, waiting out the last of the serious cold weather. The last week or so it's been really nice outside, so we've been getting out more, and I can already feel that helping. Tomorrow my mom is coming for a visit, kicking off what will be a round of seven house guests we are scheduled to host between now and the end of March. The momentum is picking up around here. By April it's highly likely that I'll be ready to crawl into the quietest corner of my house with a book and not talk for a couple of weeks to recover. But right now it feels good to be moving into warmer weather and visits from loved ones and maybe along with it all some renewed energy. Perhaps I'll even have an original thought or two that doesn't bore me so badly I can't even consider inflicting it upon y'all, my loyal three readers.

Kate is my role model for energy and enthusiasm. Today, she and Dan went to Wal-Mart to pick something up for me. He bought her a 99-cent pinwheel and she was enthralled. It was all I could do to get her to put it down so she could take a bath. I mean, look at that face!