I always greet the end of Women’s History month with mixed feelings.

On the one hand, I am sorry for the fun to end. All through March, everywhere I go on the internet someone is posting something interesting about women whose stories need to be told or sharing their own introduction to women’s history, whether it happened in grade school,* in college, or yesterday. Or some combination of all three.** I learn about women I’ve never heard of, add books to my already overwhelming To-Be-Read list, and meet fellow travelers. Then April 1st comes and it is time to put away my party hat and noisemakers for another year. Though April Fool’s Day is consolation of its own sort: I am very fond of foolishness.***

On the other hand, I am ready for the fun to end. Putting together the interview series is a labor of love for me, and an act of generosity for the historians, novelists, poet and podcast hosts who take the time to answer questions about their work. It is also a lot is a lot of work. No matter how far ahead I start, I am always scrambling in the final week to get the last few posts up. Writing this wrap-up post is my last job for the month.

But that doesn’t mean that I’m setting aside women’s history. I’ve already started a list of people I’m excited to invite for next year’s interviews. I have books to review and authors to interview. I have a whole series of posts about women’s journalists to run in the months leading up to the release of The Dragon from Chicago.**** In short, to misquote Ebenezer Scrooge, “I will honor Women’s History Month in my heart and try to keep it all the year.” That is, after all, the goal: to reach the point where we don’t need Women’s History Month, or Black History Month, or any of the other heritage months that now fill our calendars because we have already integrated those stories into history as we teach and learn it.

We’re not there yet.  We’re not even close. Getting there will take hard work on many fronts. And an occasional month of celebration.

* It turns out I wasn’t the only little girl eagerly reading what I now know are books in the Bobbs-Merrill Childhood of Famous Americans series.

**I love this essay by historical novelist Joan Fernandez: You’re Not Crazy

***Though I strongly dislike pranks, which I find inherently mean-spirited.

****August 6. Mark your calendars. (Not that I’m going to let you forget.)