In our abode, we have over the decades, come to a mutually discomforting compromise involving wall/desk calendars, Daytimers (they rarely “crash”), smart phone (& not so smart phone) apps and computer software. What has come to work for us (way too much for some) is this: at the first of the year and the Fourth of July we look, in general, at the next twelve months and more specifically at the next six months. We then have “calendar time” at the beginning of each month and of each week to plan events we want to ensure happen. The night before or the morning of each day we clarify the coming 24 hours. Too much? For us it serves to clarify and to communicate the commitments we have made to ourselves and to each other in the clan.
Commitments and celebrations are a part of who we are and say much about what we value in our being. Among those “C&C’s”, are cultural holidays and holy-days, as well as Hallmark days (BFF, “Administrative Assistant’s”, National Spam (the canned meat), Wear Your Kilt, & Butterfly). There are also “C&Cs” that we create, combine, or modify from the experiences of our lives. We celebrate The Ides of March combined with an anniversary. Winnie the Pooh’s birthday cannot pass unnoticed. A major sign of the passage of time is the “Cookout Season” and the “Joshua Memorial Invitation to Y’All” Labor Day Gathering” (which includes taking the corks out of champagne bottles with sabers).
May our calendars be a guide, a diary, a blessed notation of that which makes us human beings not just human doings. May they be a useful tool, reminding us that this day is the gift of the present. May this continue through the rest of the days of our lives. Shalom.
[Comments, questions, disagreements, snide remarks and silly stories are encouraged.]