Remember the Second Month!

Word of the Post
Today's word is: syzygy
/siz"i*gee/ noun
The nearly straight line configuration of three celestial bodies (as the sun, moon and earth during a solar or lunar eclipse) in a gravitational system. The intimately united and apparently fused condition of certain low organisms during conjugation; so closely united that the line of union is obliterated on the outer, though visible on the inner, side. The preacher who gave me this word used it to describe what marriage should be like. Two becoming one.
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There have been two days recently when I got to babysit my niece. She is an ornery little squirt, but so much fun! She usually goes to a babysitter who has two older children, but their family has been sick, so I got the grand honor. She would eat her weight in cheese if I let her. Cheese, bananas and raisins. She is pretty handy with a fork. She is only 17 months old, and has a very clear vocabulary of over 100 words, can say the alphabet with some prompting, and can count to ten. We think she is a genius, but I suppose the family is biased.















Today is Abraham Lincoln's birthday. He was born in Kentucky, but was moved at an early age to Indiana (now referred to as the "Land of Lincoln"). I know this because when I was 7 years old, my mom helped me lose a radio contest with this question. And I just found that again on Wikipedia.

"30 days hath September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31, except for February, which only needeth 28." ~ Shoe comic from many years ago. February is a month to remember, I suppose because it has so few days to remember with. There are many holidays and remembrances to celebrate this month. Black History Month, the birthday of Susan B. Anthony, birthdays of former presidents Lincoln and Washington, Presidents' Day, Valentine's Day, Fat Tuesday a.k.a. Mardi Gras right before Ash Wednesday beginning Lent, the Chinese New Year, and the soon-to-be-famous Sibling Day.

At our house, the 15th of February is a big deal. Jeff's sister and my brother were born on the same day, in different states, but only 10 minutes apart. Since I am older than Jeff by two and a half years, I think it only fitting that my brother is the older of the siblings. I used to give my brother Susan B. Anthony dollars for his birthday, because it was hers as well. If you count that Lady Liberty on the Liberty Dimes isn't really a person, Susan B. and Sacajawea make up only two ladies on U. S. Currency. The rest of the faces are men or animal. Susan (born in 1820) did much work for women's suffrage. The coin was released in 1979 (the year the siblings were born) because of the centennial of Rutherford B. Hayes signing a bill into law that allowed female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court. If you are a woman, and you vote, you can thank Susan and her friends of the late 1800's for the privilege.