MARCH COMES MARCHING IN

                                    by Judy Ann Davis

Okay, I admit it, I’m not a fan of February. Every year, I wish it would fly by and push us into March. After the holidays, February brings holiday bills to pay, freezing temperatures in the northern regions, hibernation tendencies, snow, lack of light, more snow, colds, flu and then…more non-melting, dirty snow with ice. It’s a bleak, long, tedious month, despite the fewest number of days. But to February's credit, it ushers in March.

March in Pennsylvania is cheered on by the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, featuring rising temperatures, longer days, and vibrant, but unpredictable weather. It’s Women’s History Month, Ides of March, Johnny Appleseed Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Spring Equinox, and a full lunar blood moon that looks red on March 3^rd.

For me, it’s a joyful time. Rains will come, but they will leave.

I search my flower beds for new shoots and check the lilac buds to see if I’ll have blooms in April. Daffodils, crocus, snowdrops, tulips, and forsythia burst forth to color the dreary landscape. In the words of Bishop Reginald Heber: “Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil.”

Rabbits scurry over the yard looking for tasty new shoots. The neighborhood possum checks out the fallen sunflower seeds below the bird feeder. Canada geese flying overhead sing their tunes of spring. Their sounds remind me to check my many birdhouses which may need paint or repairs before they can be hung outside.

March is the time to make time and do the things we love after a cold winter. You might find me scrutinizing the colorful seed packets on display at a local store—or staring into space and making a mental list of vegetables and herbs to plant in our bucket garden in May. Or maybe I’ll just stare at the blue sky and watch the clouds sail by in a brisk spring wind.

  

It’s March. It’s spring. Fresh breeze and warm sun. The best time for new beginnings is now.

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MARCH - Women's History Month

                                                          by Judy Ann Davis

Every year, March is designated Women’s History Month by presidential proclamation. The month is set aside to honor women’s contributions in American history.

Women’s History Month began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California.

One of Ours

In 1978, The California Education Task Force of the Sonoma County     Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a “Women’s History Week” celebration. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women’s Day, and the movement spread across the country to other communities.

In 1980, the National Women’s History Project, a consortium of women’s groups  and historians, which is now the National Women's History Alliance, lobbied for national recognition. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8th 1980 as National Women’s History Week. In 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as “Women’s History Month.”

The month-long event was created to shine the spotlight on the many women who have selflessly given of themselves to improve the lives of their families, communities, and the world-at-large in all areas.

Obviously, women writers of yesteryear come to mind who have led the way for female writers today. There are many who came before us. Six of my favorite writers both novelists and poets are: Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice; Willa Cather, One of Ours; Alice Munro, Dear Life; Louisa May Alcott, Little Women; Emily Dickinson, Hope is the Thing with Feathers; Elizabeth Barrett Browning, How Do I Love Thee?

I have a copy of  How Do I Love Thee on my living room wall. It was artfully crafted, starting outward in a circle and spiraling round and round, ending in the center. It is still my very favorite of all poems.

          How Do I Love Thee?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Who do you think has helped shape women writers of today? Who do you admire? I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

                Join me on my Amazon Author Page to see all my various works:

Judy Ann Davis

 

Who's in Your Lifeboat? by Bea Tifton

A few years ago I took a purpose workshop out of curiosity. One of the exercises focused on support networks. The facilitator asked us to make a short list of who would be in our lifeboat. This is Women’s History Month, and, together with the pandemic and its isolation, I’ve been thinking about my friendships a lot lately.

I’m fortunate to have some incredible friends. There’s my friend Nancy, who knows when to hold my hand and when to give me a kick in the pants. My friend Margret, who is the most calming influence I know, quietly and without any expectations left lunch on my porch on two different occasions when I was struggling to come to terms with my dog Sammy’s violent death. And my friend Doreen was my all-time favorite boss and  is now my friend. She knew just what to say when my mother was frighteningly ill recently. And my mother is such an inspiration to me and a huge part of my life. 

But this is Women’s History Month, and while these women are part of my history, I decided to pick some historical figures who would be in my lifeboat. There are so many, but I narrowed it down.

Nellie Bly (1864-1922) was a groundbreaking investigative reporter whose undercover work in an insane asylum led to reformative legislation. She also traveled around the world in 72 days.

“I’ve always had the feeling that nothing is impossible if one applies a certain amount of energy in the right direction. If you want to do it, you can do it.”

Rosa Parks (1913-2005)  was a civil rights advocate and recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal.  She was the first woman to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol after her death.

“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) was the longest serving First Lady during husband Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four terms in office. She was an advocate for women’s rights, social change, civil rights, and a delegate to the United Nations.

“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”

Margit Buchhalter Feldman (1929-2020) was the only Auschwitz survivor in her family. She spent the latter part of her adult life educating children about the Holocaust and was instrumental in getting a bill passed that mandated a Holocaust curriculum in New Jersey Schools.

“I am here and I firmly believe it is because God wanted me to survive and be here and tell the free world what an uncaring world did to its fellow human beings. “

 So many amazing women in our history. So many about whom to learn and to celebrate.

And so many amazing women in our lives.  Who’s in your lifeboat?