March Comes in Like a Lion

I love the imagery of the old saying that March "comes in like a lion". When I was teaching kindergarten and pre-kindergarten, this was my classroom door decoration for March. My students cut out a picture of a cartoon-faced lion and then cut the mane around the lion's face on marked lines. Then they would roll the strip around their pencil, pull the pencil out and the lion's mane would have a curl. I would tell them the "old saying" about March and a lion and then point out how the weather of the days the last few days of February and the first few days of March were harsh and loud. Oklahoma weather rarely disappointed and the month of March began with snowstorms, thunderstorms, windstorms, and an occasional ice storm. I tried to get my students to see the connection of an angry lion charging into the room and the thunderstorm and howling north winds we had just experienced. Some of my students understood the metaphor but most were afraid a lion was on the loose.

March days do eventually settle down to windy and warm days, well, most of the time. I tend to get caught up in those days and want to start getting ready to plant flowers. I want to start cleaning out flowerpots, checking out my left-over gardening supplies and cutting dead growth from plants I hope will grow again. If you have lived in Oklahoma for very long, you know that March can have winter days and spring days all month long. Many times, I have fallen for the joke that winter is over, spring is here. We do not have a smooth transition from one season to the other. As a mom and a teacher, I remember how frustrating it was to look outside and see the sun shining, a beautiful blue sky and a wind chill temp in the single digits.

March weather helps to teach us patience. I have to remember that "For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven." Spring starts on March 19 this year. That is when "a time to plant" will begin and until then I will complete the last part of that verse "a time to pluck up what is planted". When that task is completed, I will wait for March to "go out like a lamb."

--Tina