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The Most Wonderful Time....  by Grace Burrowes

Every year, I get a little perkier around the third week of January. At first, I think, "The days are getting longer, I can feel it."
This is true, the days are getting longer (in the Northern Hemisphere), and isn't that a reason for rejoicing?

Then I think, "The third week in January is historically the coldest week of the year where I live. The trend is warmer from here on out."
More cause for rejoicing!

And then the real reason occurs to me--why is this an a-ha! every year?
My daughter was born in early February twenty-some years ago, and a quarter of a century later, she's still my pride and joy, my greatest gift, and my most wondrous treasure. What parent wouldn't look forward to celebrating the occasion of a child's arrival?

The calendar is like a landscape to me, though some of its features are buried. Later in February, I'll call my mom, because her mom also had a February birthday. On Grandma's birthday, I know Mom will be thinking of her. Thirty years from now, I'll likely still be thinking of my Grandma on her birthday. 
In the day job, the anniversaries can be more subtle, and not as sweet. Foster parents will report that the kid who's been a perfect angel since arriving to their home nearly a year ago is showing signs of disrupting the placement.

"We're coming up on anniversary of the child's removal from home," I point out.
Oh.
OH.

Fortunately, the calendar lays flowers in our paths more often than potholes. In just a few weeks, I'll be listening for the peepers to sing their little tree-froggie love songs, and any time now--any time!--I could spot a crocus by the mailbox.

This week, I'm celebrating the launch of my third Scottish Victorian, The MacGregor's Lady. My characters have to overcome potholes the width and depth of the North Atlantic ocean, and how they manage that was great fun to write.
For an except or to order a copy, here's the link.

And because I am having such a lovely week, and I have so many reasons to rejoice, I'm giving away an iPad to one commenter below, who can tell me about some of the flowers strewn over their calendar this time of year. Today's post is part of a two-week long blog tour in celebration of The MacGregor's Lady, and we're giving away an iPad, or the e-reader of the winner's choice, at each stop. For the rest of the tour itinerary, click here.

(PS: As I write this, the snow is pouring down. If I'm not responding to comments, assume I'm shoveling out my truck, and hoping the power comes back on.)

Comments

  1. What a lovely post! Yes, I can feel spring coming too. We celebrate birthdays in Jan, And our 'little' anniversary (the day we met...On Groundhog Day) and Valentines Day. A lo of reasons to keep on truck in' through the cold with the promise of Spring in another 6 weeks or so.

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    1. Important to celebrate those little moments. I know the exact minute my daughter was born, and it's odd how often I'll be up past midnight, peer at the clock, and think "Happy Birth Minute!"

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  2. Thanks for sharing that this winter too shall pass, Grace.

    My mother has a February birthday too. She's been such a support to me all my life, always encouraging, always telling me I can do whatever I decide to. She's also the one who put the first romance novel in my hands. When I talked to her yesterday, she'd just finished my latest release and loved it. (I think it's funny that my mom will read my sexy historicals, but my grown kids can't bring themselves to do it.)

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    1. My ninety-year-old mom reads mine too, as does one brother. The rest... "That's nice dear. So what did you think of the Superbowl?" Though they know I don't own a TV.

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  3. Birthdays galore in February! Mine too : )

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    1. Makes you wonder about that old Lusty Month of May, doesn't it?

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  4. Ahhh, the hope of spring. It's hard to imagine with three inches of snow on the ground but it does arrive every single year so I hold out hope. Love, love the premise of your new book and the cover is breathtaking. Youngest Daughter is dancing a jig this morning that she has a new Grace Burrowes to read this next weekend!

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    1. Carolyn, please tell her thanks for the good vibes, and congratulations on your own release day! How many are you up to now?
      And we're between storms here--snow yesterday, ice tonight. Time to get more books...

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    2. I will, Miz Grace. She can't wait for your books to hit the shelves. And thank you! This is my 65th published romance book; 66th in all with the women's fiction. Nine more in the works. So far so good, writing has kept me out of jail. I tend to get in trouble when I get bored or when I'm with you!

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  5. My bday, hubby's bday, my mom's bday, my MIL's bday, anniversary of getting engaged. And yes, thank goodness the days are getting longer!!

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    1. We do recall when we got engaged, don't we? THAT was the moment life changed--when we made the commitment, not when we said "I do." Interesting--how can I use this in a book?

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  6. Congratulations Grace! Ironic about February and birthdays, my oldest son has his birthday today. I wish you the best with your lovely Scottish book, and you can be sure I'll share the news on twitter and FB.
    Have a great day-
    Gina Conkle

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    1. Somebody else anticipated Beltane.... This is also lambing season, for some reason, though spring is still just a hope.

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  7. Wonderful post.
    My brother's birthday is in February. Last year, during the blizzard we joked that Spring was right around the corner! Valentines Day always brings a card, candy or flowers to brighten the day. I love to read my garden magazines in February and dream of the flowers that will bloom in Spring!

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    1. Valentine's Day was the sole occasion of mushy behavior from my Dad--he gave each of his three daughters a card, every year. This always surprised me and pleased me inordinately, and now the cards go the other way.

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  8. You got me with the fuzzy bunnies! That's enough to get me doing a Snoopy dance--plus, it's almost spring, hooray! Birthdays are a wonderful cause for celebration, and the more celebrating the better our lives, I say (I'm sure somebody else said that more eloquently). The icing on top of this cake of joy is the release of The MacGregor's Lady. Potholes turning to flowers. Good, good times. Congratulations!

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    1. Land mines turning into flowers for some of us. How lucky I am, to HAVE a release day, a kid celebrating a birthday, a mom I can still call...

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  9. most of my upcoming dates are now bittersweet -- my parents anniv, both now gone & missed, but then I remember that they are once again together after all the years kept apart & won't have to part again; the anniv of custody of my puppy girl which brings to mind the 10 yrs of laughter & smiles she brought into my life which makes me smile again in memory.

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    1. One of the burdens of maturation--we also see more losses. My parents, both in their nineties, have so few friends left. My dad says this is why we need to make friends all over the age spectrum throughout life, so nobody's ever left with only those losses. Smart guy...

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  10. Wow! Gorgeous flowers in the snow. Mine are struggling with 40-degree temps. No big days coming up here, but Princess Galen asks if it's summer yet daily. She is ready for swimming.

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    1. But you live in Texas. Isn't that where you have Summer, Still Summer, High Summer, and Summer's Coming? Or something like that...

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  11. About the only sign of spring around here so far was a dead skunk in the middle of the road. (Sing the song with me now...) "Stinkin' to high heaven."
    I don't get perky until March. Fortunately, February is a short month.

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    1. Odd, isn't it, how even a few missing days and February does feel like it goes by a lot more quickly.I think the lengthening sunlight has something to do with that.

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  12. Happy Launch Day, Grace. I love those bunnies!

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    1. I had bunnies on the brain. Just sent a house full of slightly tipsy kilted Highlanders off on a bunny chase in this year's Christmas story. The bunny had the most fun.

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  13. Ahhhh, love Spring. It's here in a blip. The tulip stems are already out! It's cold out. But I already see some greening up (in the 70's this past week with highs in the 30's in between, up and down)...and then it will be hot, hotter, hottest, cold (only a blip though in the scheme of things.) And yes, that's Texas!

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    1. Send us some pictures of the blue bonnets. They have to be seen to be believed.

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  14. I'm not celebrating the end of winter just yet since we are due for a bad storm starting tonight! Spring has always been my favorite season and I actually planned to have my children then and it worked. My oldest (April) was born in May and my youngest (Al;ysa) was born in April. I could have saved the name but who knew lol. I am really looking forward to starting this series!

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    1. We're due for the same storm, and so I stopped at the grocery store on the way home. What the weather must do for their bottom line!
      And I think the occasional storm does e-reader books sales some good too!

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  15. Don't have any flowers

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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    1. bn100, you're above ground, sucking air, as my brother would say. That means hope for a brighter tomorrow has been tossed in your path, and that's a small but precious flower. May it sprout roots and shoots, and turn into an entire garden of blooms for you.

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  16. We have lots of celebration days in February--three birthdays, our wedding anniversary, Valentine's Day, and usually--but not this year--Mardi Gras. In addition to those "calendar flowers," here in south Texas, February is frequently the beginning of spring, so we'll be planting actual flowers in the garden. After reading, digging in the dirt is my favorite pasttime! Thanks for the post and giveaway. Good luck with the new release.

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    1. I like certain kinds of gardening--bulbs in the fall, flowers in spring, but not all that weeding, whacking, and mowing stuff. This year, I'm determined to have container tomatoes, too. Nothing like home grown t'maters.

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  17. Thank you, Grace. Here in Arkansas we usually see the first signs of spring during the second week of February. Jonquils, crocuses, and daffodils start to bloom.

    But not this time. We're still in the grip of a particularly harsh winter. Spring will have to wait.

    However, there's one event we can look forward to in February regardless of the weather: Valentine's Day. Hope all of yours will be great!

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    1. Mary Anne, my first Valentine, Dear Old Dad, is still with us, and that's something for me to celebrate. Dude is 93, and still living with my Mom in their home by the sea. What fascinates me is that still, STILL, nearly seventy years into their union, they have to work on their marriage. THAT is true love!

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    2. Wow, nearly seventy years! Now that's something to celebrate!

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  18. My dad's birthday is this week and then there are a few more birthdays to celebrate in March and April. Just really looking forward to warmer weather. We're getting another storm and it's our second one this week.

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    1. And then we're supposed to get something really nasty over the weekend. Geez, enough already--though I'm still glad to be in a season free of bugs.

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  19. There are a lot of flowers in January for me. My beautiful grandmother's birthday was the 5th and it's been 22 years since she's been here to celebrate but I always think of her on the 5th. My wedding anniversary and husband's birthday occur during the second week of January and then on the 25th I remember as my due date for pregnancy that ended too early. February sees the birthday of my twin nephews, who turned two on Sunday, my beautiful niece will turn 23 towards the end of the month and another nephew will be 6. March is the month we celebrate my only spring baby's birthday and he's already begun the countdown. Lots and lots of flowers.
    Congrats on the new release.

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    1. Good heavens, that hardly leaves time for anything except gift shopping and picking out cards!

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  20. Some of the flower's strewn on my calendar this time of year are my little great-niece's birthday (she was adopted from China and is a joy to the whole family), my son's birthday (my greatest gift), and several of my good friends also celebrate their birthdays. Here in Florida, the days are getting warmer and we have calmness before the hurricane season starts in the summer.

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    1. Barbara, you remind us: One woman's pothole is another woman's flower. Hurricane season is a high price to pay for the absence of winter!

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  21. We are getting some milder temps here and I am holding out hope for some sign of Spring soon. My azaleas have bloomed recently and that makes me happy. February is a busy month with Valentines, mother in laws birthday, hubby's birthday and my sons birthday right after that on March 1st. Just want to wish you a happy release day, this series is one of my favorites. Thanks so much

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    1. Thanks, Sheryl, and you'll be pleased to know that a fourth book has been added, What A Lady Needs for Christmas, due out in October. And then Tiberius Flynn's other two sisters are tugging at my hems, looking hopeful and determined...

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  22. It's way too hard to think about spring over here in Canada. We're covered in the stuff with not a hint of warm days ahead. But it's nice to look at pictures of bunnies and flowers though :) Congratulations on the new release!!

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    1. That's why the longer daylight encourages me, so, Anita. Even though we still get colder for about a month after the solstice, we HAVE changed direction, and spring IS coming. Will wish you an early one, with lots of flowers and bunnies.

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  23. CATSLADY is our winner for the iPad, and LSUreader for the three book giveaway. I'll be in touch, friends, and thank you all for stopping by.

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  24. I am totally beyond myself - thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

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