Favorite Month -- February

After a lot of thought, I have decided that February is at least my second favorite month and possibly the first.  July has always been tops as my favorite time of year because it has lots of warm weather and sunshine.  Beach weather.  Now that I am old, beach weather is not so important.  In fact, it gets harder and harder to sunbathe; it feels much too warm, especially when a hot flash hits.

So February has at least moved into a tie for first place as my favorite month.  The days are getting longer, the sun is out a lot, and there is usually still snow on the ground.  This means that I can go cross country skiing a few times during February.  I was not able to ski two years ago when I broke my wrist, and last year didn't work out well.  But this year, February has been so gorgeous that I've had to go to the south side of the Girdled Road metroparks to ski.  There is usually a track set, even though people and dogs walk through it.  There are not very many people in the woods on these cold, snowy days and it is absolutely beautiful with the sun shining.

It's true that the older I get, the less fast I am able to go (and less steady, too), but that doesn't seem to matter.  I do believe the hills get bigger and steeper the older I get; but I still love the feeling, however slow, of effortlessly (almost) gliding through the woods.  Thank you, Ginny.

Evolution

Ever notice how young people rarely talk on the phone anymore?  They almost always text, or at least the ones I am around, do.  Cell phones seem to be less for talking to one another than for sending text messages, taking and sending photos, surfing the web, and playing games.  Do young people ever write letters, or even send emails?  Not the ones I know.  They tweet, or comment on their friends' Facebook pages, or text using their cells.

Is this a giant leap forward in the evolution of humankind?  Are humans adapting to keep up with technology?  Is the attention span of a young person shortened so he or she doesn't get left behind as technology moves ahead by leaps and bounds?  Which came first -- technology or the evolving brain?

Also, people don't seem to be as social as they once were.  If we have jobs, we are usually on call 24/7.  Not many have an actual 9 to 5 job anymore.  Technology never lets us turn off.  Even if we are on a beach in the Caribbean, we can still be involved in decisions at the job.  This naturally gives us less time get to know one another; so here, too, decisions must be made quickly.

Today's young people have to be able to keep up with what can be lightening fast changes, not only in the world of work, but also socially.  I think they are missing out on some of the best parts of being human -- the slow development of a relationship; the time it takes to really get to know another person.