Celebrate

It’s probably a combination of my, ahem, attentional deficits and my advanced age, but I’ve never adapted to using the calendar on my phone. Nope, I’ve got my trusty planner, from which I transfer important dates to the whiteboard calendar in my kitchen. Where, even at my most distracted, I can’t help but see what’s up and what lies ahead. I like having the planner too, in which I can list far off appointments or trips and keep informed about the dates of certain holidays. Last month, I was amused to discover that my birthday was listed as National Sibling Day. Once I’d digested the bitter irony of that, I moved on to May.

Where I managed to overlook Mother’s Day. Probably not a coincidence since I find it the most problematic of Hallmark holidays (I’ve talked about my lack of enthusiasm for the holidays before, so I’ll spare you the rant), and because I said goodbye to my mother last summer. The CWP reminded me by surprising me with an elusive palo santo and sage candle last week (we are both incapable of holding on to a surprise for long), and after some reflection I decided that I’d treat myself to a cooking marathon on Saturday (one of my favorite forms of creative solitude) and host a dinner for nearby loved ones on Sunday (including, of course, the amazing young woman who has made motherhood such a wonder).

All of this musing (National Sibling Day? Really?) had me wondering what other “holidays” I’d been missing out on. After a trip down a rabbit hole*, I’ve found some that I can cheerfully get behind:

Festival of Sleep Day (January 3). What better way to start off the new year than with a great rest?

Bird Day (January 5). As I recently shared, birds seem to be my spirit animal.

Word Nerd Day (January 9). You have to be a word nerd to be a writer. Some of us just surround ourselves with them.

Organize Your Home Day (January 14). My idea of a party. You can read more here.

Thesaurus Day (January 18). What word nerd doesn’t love a thesaurus?

Squirrel Appreciation Day (January 21). The patron saint of those of us with attentional deficits. If you know, you know.

Puzzle Day (January 29). Jigsaw, crossword, you name it—I’d be ecstatic to do it all day long.

Croissant Day (January 30). Only one day?

Library Lover’s Day (February 14). My home away from home, which I talked about here and here.

Chocolate Mint Day (February 19). My favorite flavor combo.

Proofreading Day (March 8). Some of us word nerds get almost as much pleasure from perfecting text as we do from generating it.

Scrabble Day (April 13). I taught the CWP everything she knows, for which I now have the pleasure of being soundly beaten on a regular basis.

No Pants Day (May 2). Again, only one day?

Simplicity Day (July 12). Embracing the maxim that less is more has enriched my life significantly.

Lighthouse Day (August 7). I’ve always loved lighthouses and their symbolism and make a point to visit any I come across in my travels.

Book Lovers Day (August 9). You can’t be a word nerd or a library lover and not celebrate this day. Are you noticing a theme yet?

Dog Appreciation Day (August 26). Growing to love my little menace and living with a dog whisperer has transformed me into one of those people that introduces herself to your dog before you.

International Coffee Day (October 1). Hot, strong, and life-affirming (just like my favorite lover)—I function at half power without it.

Dictionary Day (October 16). Word nerds love dictionaries even more than thesauri.

Author’s Day (November 1). I am planning to be one by the end of the year.

Happy Hour Day (November 12). For years, the happy hours hosted by almost every one of the dozens of restaurants in my town provided me with drinks, dinner and companionship for a song.

Letter Writing Day (December 7). I still love sending and receiving handwritten notes.

As I compiled this list, I noticed that my chosen holidays fall disproportionately in the beginning of the year, which is exactly when, historically, I need a bit more to celebrate.  Then I realized that most of these holidays celebrate things I truly love, or that I’m trying to incorporate more of into my life. So I may observe a designated day, but I’m planning to celebrate all year long. Another form of resistance!

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*www.timeanddate.com

Thanks for reading. What holidays do you want to celebrate?