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Hello, February!

February 4, 2026 By D'Ann Mateer 8 Comments

I love February for so many reasons. 

1. It’s my birthday month! Yay! Not only does it mean celebrating with friends and family, it also means several birthday perks from my favorite stores. Did you know some loyalty programs give you a discount or even an amount of money off a purchase in your birthday month? Check out stores like Kohl’s, Belk, Talbots, Pottery Barn/William-Sonoma, DSW, and more! Some restaurants do the same, all of which makes for a month-long celebration. 

2. It’s the birthday month for two of my dear friends! Mary DeMuth, Leslie Wilson, and I began critiquing together in 2002, and one of the first things we realized we had in common was our February birthdays! It’s fun to celebrate together. 

3. There are other family members who share this month with me: two nieces and a nephew, one of my nieces even shares my same day! And sometime in the next ten or so days, I’ll get to share February with a new granddaughter, which is really special, since my grandmother also had a February birthday. 

4. Part of all the joy of February birthdays is my birthstone. Amethysts are just lovely! I have several pieces of jewelry with amethysts in them, some given to me and some passed down from my grandmother. I tend to wear them most often in February.

5. In Texas, February generally means we are moving quickly toward spring. We have been known to have a late February cold snap, but mostly we’re warming up. I love the cold weather in December and January, but by February, I’m ready to ditch the coat and soak up the sun. 

6. This year, another February fun is the Olympics! We get a little obsessive about the Olympic Games at our house, whether summer or winter, which adds a little spark to February every four years. 

7. Valentine’s Day makes February fun, too. Not that we ever do anything big, but, you know, chocolate. It’s everywhere. And I might tend to buy a bit more than usual in February with Valentine’s Day as the excuse. Of course, these days I love putting together a bag of treats and trinkets for my granddaughters. And occasionally surprising my big kids with a gift card. I do love giving gifts! 

8. Finally, this year I am excited about February because we aren’t traveling! We got home from our last trip on February 1st and don’t leave again until March 5. Woo-hoo! A short break in a travel-heavy spring and summer.

How do you generally view February? Do you have anything this February that you are looking forward to? 

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D'Ann Mateer

Inspired by novelist Eugenia Price, D’Ann’s dream of writing historical fiction with an element of faith began in middle school, though her serious drive toward publication took a bit longer. D’Ann is the author of four historical novels and one novella, as well as a contemporary short stories in a compilation volume. D’Ann and her husband of 30 years can be found in Austin, TX when they aren’t touring historic sites or visiting their grown children.

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Filed Under: Family, Friendship, House and home Tagged With: birthdays, February, Olympics, Valentine's Day

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Comments

  1. Karen Witemeyer says

    February 4, 2026 at 7:39 am

    Happy birthday month, D’Ann! We love the restarant reward programs when it comes to birthdays and eat off of them all month. I adore the Olympics and can’t wait for them to start this weekend! I was hoping my daughter might be able to come home to watch them with me (she’s my Olympics buddy), but she thinks its more important to work on her dissertation. We obviously need to have a talk about priorities. LOL.

    Reply
    • D'Ann Mateer says

      February 4, 2026 at 12:02 pm

      😂 Those kids and their priorities. What are you going to do? Seriously, so proud of her. Having a daughter with her PhD, I know what an accomplishment that is!

      Reply
  2. Deborah Raney says

    February 4, 2026 at 7:41 am

    I can see WHY you love February! So many fun things in your life and family…especially that new little grandbaby coming soon! I’ve always loved February for 2 reasons: 1. Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday. 2. It’s a short month and that means that winter is almost over! Plus I love that in February you can start seeing the days grow longer. Both of our sons-in-law have February birthdays and they are SUCH gifts to our family, and we have three grandkid birthdays this month (two of them on the same day!) so more reasons to love February. AND my sweet dad turns 93 on Feb. 11 so there will be celebrations all around!

    Reply
    • D'Ann Mateer says

      February 4, 2026 at 12:03 pm

      So many fun birthdays to celebrate! And yes, I’m SO excited about the new grandbaby. Someone to pass down all the amethyst jewelry to! Happy birthday to your dad! That’s awesome!

      Reply
  3. Deena Adams says

    February 4, 2026 at 9:39 am

    You have lots of fun things in February, D’Ann! My son-in-law’s birthday is February 28, and that’s the only family birthday this month. I’m looking forward to a personal writing retreat next week in the Outer Banks of NC to work on my novel, and I attend Lisa Carter’s writing retreat every year at Lake Gaston, NC the last weekend in February. I can’t wait! Enjoy all your wonderful activities this month!

    Reply
    • D'Ann Mateer says

      February 4, 2026 at 12:04 pm

      What fun writing things to look forward to in February! I’m jealous! It’s nice to have a one birthday month in the family, isn’t it? Time to catch your breath!

      Reply
  4. Becky Wade says

    February 4, 2026 at 11:10 am

    Happy birthday month, D’Ann!!

    Reply
    • D'Ann Mateer says

      February 4, 2026 at 12:04 pm

      Thank you, my friend!

      Reply

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