Photo A Day: Numbers

“Age is just a number.” “Look out for Number One.” “One is the loneliest number.” “Two’s company, three’s a crowd.” “His number was up.” “I’m in two minds about it.” “Six of one, half dozen of the other.” We use numbers in our speech all the time. We also use them to tell time, on price tags and UPC symbols, when we follow a recipe, on the calendar. We are constantly surrounded by numbers. But the numbers I check most often - every day, multiple times a day, in fact – are the numbers that refer to time. What’s the date? What’s the time? How much time do I have left? What do I have to do today? What do I have to do in the next hour? If I didn’t constantly have the updated numbers in front of me that tell me how time is passing, I’d be lost.

I have a calendar on my computer that has all my important events carefully noted on it, with times, locations, and details. But that’s not really the calendar I look at most often. I look at this cheerful little calendar, the one that sits above my kitchen sink. I love this calendar.

Do you know why I love it? Because it reminds me to focus on just today. When I look at this calendar, it doesn’t remind me that I have to pick my daughter up at school at noon, or that I have a dentist appointment at 3:15, or that I have a meeting after dinner. It doesn’t remind me that my column is due on Tuesday or that I’m teaching Sunday School next week or that my cousin’s brother-in-law’s uncle’s dog’s birthday is coming up. It reminds me to take one day at a time. Even on my craziest day, I can deal with today. Tomorrow has enough trouble of its own – but I can deal with that tomorrow. Today, all I have to deal with is today. And I can do that. I can always do that. After all, today is only a number.

Numbers. 

There's a Day for That

I realize that I’ve blogged on this topic in the past, but since I saw that today is “National Mousse Day,” I decided it is time to revisit the topic. I understand that with 365 days to fill, the National Day determiners (who are they, anyway? Hallmark employees, I suppose) must get a bit desperate once they pass Day 300. But I find it hard to believe that they can’t come up with anything better than National Bavarian Cream Pie Day (November 27), National Cognac Day (June 4 and I can’t believe my husband didn’t know about that one), National Worship of Tools Day (March 11 and I can’t help wondering if that’s Tim Allen’s birthday), and National Dice Day (December 4). I may not be a highly-paid Hallmark employee, but I came up with a list of a few suggestions that I think would be better “Days” than some of the ones currently on the calendar.

National Admit Your Real Size Day

This day is pretty women-oriented, I will admit. What woman out there over the age of 30 doesn’t have a bunch of clothes in her closet that don’t fit anymore but that she can’t bring herself to give away? One day a year, we should all admit to reality and donate those too-small clothes. There are certainly enough women around – especially in this economy – who could use them.

National Cook Like Your Mother Day

Some moms may not be great cooks, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a mom out there who can’t make at least one decent meal. And chances are, she passed her recipe along to her kids. So flash back to your childhood and make that tuna casserole or meatloaf or baked mac and cheese. And thank your mom that you always had food on the table as a child. And if you didn’t always have food on the table, be thankful that you do now. And if you can, drop off some of the ingredients at a food pantry for those who don’t right now.

National Cut Your Toenails Day

This Day would have to be scheduled in the early summer, when we all start to break out the sandals and run around barefoot. Which of us hasn’t been grossed out by someone’s horribly neglected toenails at this time of year? We could all use a little reminder that a decent pedicure is in order when the warm weather rolls around.

National Learn Something New Day

It doesn’t matter what you learn about, but I think we should have one day a year when everyone comes up with some topic to research and learn a bit about. It could be anything from how to build a model rocket to the history of the Olympics to how to make tiramisu to what makes a Slinky work. It should be a topic that you find interesting but that you wouldn’t ever learn about otherwise.

National This is Not a “Day” Day

Having some kind of National “Day” on every single day, 365 days a year, is simply exhausting. So once a year, we need a break from days when we just have a non-day Day. If that seems like too much, maybe we can make this Day on February 29^th, so it’s only every four years. With apologies to Sadie Hawkins, of course.

 

But until these days get instituted on the calendar, I guess I’d better go make some mousse. It is National Mousse Day, after all.