The groundhog reportedly saw his shadow Sunday, officially signifying six more weeks of winter (or non-winter, as the case is this year).
Despite the bad news that spring will arrive on time, as usual, I have my own silly reasons for optimism this time of year.
It’s a little known fact that mid-February is a turning point of sorts in the darkness factor of winter.
It’s a point at which the days are as long now as they were in late October when summer was drawing to a close.
Technically, we’ve been gaining daylight since Dec. 22, but now we’re able to see daylight at quitting time, and that makes all the difference in the world to working mothers with small children.
We’re gaining an average of two minutes of sunlight per day, which means moms everywhere are earning renewed respect from their children in daycare.
For little ones with no reliable mechanism for telling time, lengthening shadows are their only indicator that it’s almost time to go home. Darkness could only mean one thing: Mom’s late — or worse yet, has forgotten them.
Tonight, the sun will set at roughly 5:45. On Tuesday, it was still above the horizon when I picked up the boys at 5:25. "Mom, how come you’re early?" Jonathan said, surprised.
"I just missed you," I said slyly.
Pretty soon, minute by minute, I’ll be Super Mom in his eyes, as I’m able to still get all my work done, while picking him up sooner and sooner every day.
Speaking of dark days
Gov. Tim Pawlenty made quite an impression on me during his visit to Luverne last month — for two reasons.
For one, his presentation was the most dark and dismal commentary on government budgets that I’ve ever heard.
What impressed me about that was his statement that EVERYONE would have to share in the responsibility of balancing the budget.
I was sure to quote him on that, because anyone who knows anything about how things work at the Capitol knows that those with the most effective lobbyists are the ones who come out ahead.
It will be interesting and entertaining to watch the song and dance and see if the burden is actually shared equally — or at least fairly — in the end.
In addition to his message, the other thing that impressed me about our governor was his delivery style.
I came to the event curious to meet the weasel who had come up with such idiot proposals, but I freely admit came away understanding his motives and appreciating his candor.
He addressed the crowd respectfully and articulately without a prepared speech, and he seemed to be well-versed on a number of miscellaneous issues thrown at him afterward.
I know style won’t count for much when we assess our governor’s performance at the end of his term, but I for one, found him to be a refreshing change from our former governor.
And, after the predictable State of the Union address last week, I’m just glad to know there are some politicians who know how to put a sentence together that isn’t scrolled across a teleprompter.
