Let Me Be Short...er, Brief. by Darlene Beck Jacobson

Here we are in FEBRUARY: the "short" month.  What February lacks in number of days, it makes up for in letters...having the same number of letters as November and December - the big holiday months.  Things are tough for February though.  It's stuck in the middle of winter.  And it gets an extra day only every four years.  Maybe that's why Valentine's Day is in February - everyone needs love...even a short month.

I've been thinking a lot about the word SHORT and what it means.  Here's a "short"list:
- short of stature
- short tempered
- short note 
- short pants
- short-sleeved shirt
- to be short with someone
- shortcoming
- short sighted
- shorthand
- short-lived
- shortage
- shortbread
- shortcake
- short circuit

Think about this list.  In every case except one, short describes something lacking or missing, or less than.  Not my definitions...Websters Dictionary and Roget's Thesaurus.

I want to add another definition of SHORT:  Concise.  Nothing wasted.  A good thing in a small package.  Just like February.  How could you not love a month that celebrates love, a sleepy rodent, presidents, black history, and the Olympics every 4 years?

Have you guessed the one "short" where nothing is lacking?  Shortcake?  No, it's much better with strawberries and whipped cream.  But, shortbread is perfect just the way it is.