Welcome to February!

February was party month when Joe was alive. We celebrated his birthday, my birthday, and Valentines Day all month long.

However, I do not celebrate those days anymore. His birthday is usually half over before I remember it. That is a good thing. I do not need to dwell on the fact that it is his birthday, just remember it and give thanks for it.

My birthday is always quiet unless the weather cooperates and I am able to get out of town and go spend the day with Mom. This February will most likely see me celebrating quietly at home as temperatures are supposed to be below normal and the precipitation is to be above normal. UGH! Winter birthdays stink.

Valentine’s Day is my hibernation day. I stay home and shut the world out. Don’t want to hear all the noise about Valentine’s Day. It is time for me to read, write and fire up the crock-pot.

Not sure what is going to happen on the blog this month. I still have very few words to write. So I will be doing a lot of reading and hopefully, that will give me thoughts and ideas.

I can tell you that starting on Ash Wednesday, which is also Valentine’s Day, I will be undertaking another prayer challenge using Mark Batterson’s book Draw the Circle, The 40 Day Prayer Challenge. I’ve used it before but that is the problem, I stop after 40 days. I need to keep going. My goal for this year is to spend an hour in prayer every day.

My prayer for you this month is that your February is filled with lots of love and joy-filled memories.

Bio: Michele Kearns is the founder and HUG© (Hope Unites Globally) Award-Winner of JoyReturns. She shares her widowhood adventures hoping to encourage widows to move through grief and rebuild their lives. A graduate of Kent State University with a Bachelor’s degree in communications, she’s used those skills while managing call center teams, facilitating a grief support group and helping small businesses with various writing and administrative assignments. Michele is a bookworm, lover of chocolate, red roses and golden retrievers and is an amateur photographer.