Each month I love in her own way.
May is a lady of joy, of loud laughter and merry garlands of flowers given freely.
No day with her is wasted, no moment is without mirth.
June is a venturesome lady, always urging me to keep going, to see what we can find
around the bend. She always has something new to show.
July is a lady who demands much of me. Easy as it is to shrink back from her and let her take the lead,
I feel better meeting her challenge.
August is a lady who speaks little, but softly smiles all the day, sitting on a hillside, watching the clouds go by.
I forget about the cares of the world as I sit with her.
September is a lady who always reminds me to take joy in what I have while I have it.
She knows just how to say farewell to things,
and move on.
October, that most gothic of ladies, reminds me that all things pass one day.
This is her way of comforting me.
It works.
November is a lady who can see the beauty in those things we call plain.
She tells me that every part of the world is important in its own way,
even the things we disdain.
December, oh December. She knows how to endure,
by gathering friends and family, and celebrating what we can do
for each other. If there is no light above, she will make her own here below.
January is a harsh mistress, who never fails to remind me
that life is not all joy and laughter. Pain and sorrow have their place.
As long as we can recover we can endure.
February is good at making much of meager resources.
She gets the short end of the stick. It does not stop her.
March is a lady who can always see a light at the end of the tunnel.
She bids me always plan for the future,
and to recognize when it is approaching.
April gets a bad rap. She has been called the cruelest month.
But I have come to understand that sometimes we must pass through pain and toil to reach peace.
She bids me look forward -- not to stumble in thinking I am safe yet,
but to keep going, towards the true end.