February is my favorite month. OK, I have to admit the main reason for my fondness is because it’s my birth month. It makes it easy to love.
I was born in the second month, on the second day and there are two of me (I’m a twin). Two should probably be my lucky number; however being the rebel child of the family, I chose three and have stuck with it. My sister, the math teacher, enjoys how it all worked out numerically, and we joke about it all the time.
OK, back to February. It is the most unique month of the year. With only 28 days, you learn to appreciate every day you get. Then when a leap year rolls around, you are rewarded with an extra day. No other month is so lucky.
To do something different this year, I have tried to post something to Facebook every day of the month — Facebook February as I like to call it. I know it’s not a lofty goal, but I have enjoyed the project. Facebook and I haven’t always been on the same page. Despite the fact that I can boast to being around when Facebook was born and had an account when it was for college students only, I never really used Facebook all that much. I have only recently become attached to the social media site.
I can trace the change back to when I got my iPhone. The change was gradual, but I could really tell after a year of iPhone ownership how my dependency had changed. A good example would be this past summer when I was at Disney World. I spent one day at the Magic Kingdom posting an entire day’s activities to my Facebook timeline. I have been to Disney multiple times and never had the desire to document my whole day. I don’t think it was a conscious decision at the time; but once I started, I just didn’t stop. I look back now and am glad to have the memories from that day.
This Facebook February idea came about in a very similar way. It started with a few simple posts. First about the snowstorm, then on my birthday, and I just kept going from there. I was about a week in before I decided to keep it going for the whole month.
I haven’t broadcast this endeavor to anyone. In fact, I think the only person who I mentioned it to was my brother. I suppose this column makes that a moot point ... oh well.
I try to keep it simple, migrating toward photos with some of my favorite quotes on them. I think the most popular quote so far was from “A League of Their Own.” In the words of Tom Hanks’ character, Jimmy Dugan, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” I love that movie.
I had also never participated in Facebook’s “Throwback Thursday” until this month. It was fun finding old photos to share. For a Father’s Day present several years ago, my sister and I spent a weekend scanning a ton of our old photos. Those have come in handy more than once since then. I may have to continue even after the conclusion of Facebook February.
With only three days of February left, I have my last few posts planned. I may have some leftover quotes that I may post in March; but no worries Facebook friends, I will go back to my normal Facebook habits soon.
This February we got to celebrate Black History Month, President’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Ash Wednesday and most importantly Groundhog Day (maybe that’s just me). We simply can’t forget about those Girl Scout cookies either. February really is a fine month.
Contact Pam Rodgers at
641-792-3121 ext. 6531 or
prodgers@newtondailynews.com