February Face

Good morrow, Benedick. Why, what’s the matter,

That you have such a February face, 

So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?

--Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

February is not my favorite month, despite the fact that it has Valentine’s Day, which is one of my favorite holidays. It is gray and drab and a constant push--to get up, to move, to go, to find light.

This February has brought snow, which fills me with happiness but also ensures that we stay close to home in a year where we have constantly stayed close to home, and every day feels like more of the same. None of this same is bad; it’s just monotonous, and I have to remind myself to notice what’s different, to pay attention to the snow and the way the flakes float softly in the air. I look at a gap-toothed grin and shaggy blond hair and remind myself that actually none of this will be the same even next week, that these monotonous moments are a gift, if I can shake off the February funk to receive them.

I am reading Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year, edited by Allie Esiri, which has a Shakespeare excerpt every day, and it is one of the joys brightening my February face. I am not equally invested in all the plays; I’m heavily biased toward the ones I read with students, discussed with classmates and friends, or saw in performance. Yet every day, I read pieces of old poetry, worn smooth with centuries of repetition and interpretation but still crackling with intelligence, wit, and beauty. Every day when I open the book, I get a little reminder of my spot in the long line of humanity, a tiny puzzle piece of beauty to help me figure out where to fit, and a chance to slip my hand into the hand of the community of people who love these words.

February may be gray. But this life is absolutely full of treasures and so beautiful. I just have to remember to notice.

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