February — a true weather rollercoaster.

Essentially every week of the month brought warm temperatures to start the week then ice and snow around the Wednesday-Thursday mark. This allowed me the bone-chilling opportunity (not so much for my car) to cover my first big snow storm in Missouri. Let me tell you, I knew roads were bad growing up in the region but it's bad in the city. Despite the cold, families trekked into the snow to sled, slide and dig their way through the snow.

A pro tip: Do NOT pour hot water on your frozen windshields because there is a chance they will shatter.

We enter March as Russia continues to invade Ukraine in an attempt to restablish the geographic footprint of the former Soviet Union. St. Louisans with Ukranian roots, and in many cases family still in the country, have been sharing stories of loss, grief and resilience. Despite being thousands of miles away from their homeland, the ties that bind the community have come to the forefront in times of tragedy.

One of the highlights of my month was meeting Ms. Kim Daniel. The 55-year-old took me through her new apartment, pointing at the walls as she gleamed with joy. She told me about the paintings she was going to hang up and detailed the pewter gray and mustard yellow decor she was going to hang up. You see, Kim finally moved into a new home after waiting for roughly a decade but the happy ending didn't come without challenges.