Did You Ever Wonder

  Today, we celebrate Answer the Telephone like Buddy the Elf Day!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL9ReZ91Y8g

I challenge you to DO IT!! I will...if my phone actually rings. Days and days and days go by without my phone ringing…(no, that's not a pathetic attempt to get you to call me! As a "high I" introvert, I enjoy not talking on the phone!)

 It's also Free Shipping Day at a LOT of companies - http://www.freeshippingday.com/ so if you were thinking about ordering something online, this would be the best day to do it! I've done a lot of my Christmas shopping online this year - I haven't had a lot of time to go to stores. Plus, see above - I don't particularly enjoy the crowds.

 We also celebrate National Re-gifting Day. Did you get something that you simply can't find a good use for? Please remove all evidence that this was given to you by someone else (gift tags, for example) and find another person to bless with that item!

Today we celebrate Frog Jumping Day. This is thanks to Mark Twain and his first short story, "Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog." The title of the story as it's published today is "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." If you like frogs, especially the jumping ones, then this holiday is for you!

Today, we celebrate my wonderful daughter Kate Harrington's birthday! Many of you know her story, some probably don't. She's been headstrong since before she was born - a fighter, an overcomer, a victory and a miracle. Before she was born, she stopped developing at about 16 weeks - didn't grow another centimeter until after the 32nd week. Doctors weren't optimistic about her future, saying her lungs, heart and brain were not going to work right, and encouraged me to terminate, but I refused, instead putting my faith in the One who heals. I remember my exact request - because I made it daily for weeks - "I know you can fix whatever the problem is, Lord - so, while you're in there doing that, could you give her red hair and blue eyes so I know for sure it was you?"

  Happy 29th birthday to my amazing daughter, who has proven over and over again why she was meant to overcome any challenge put in her path. I love you Katie! You have better lungs, a stronger heart and a smarter brain than most of the people I know!

  In other news, it's Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Katie is one of those too, as her husband Nick was in the Navy.  Seriously, though, military spouses have difficult lives - often moving and uprooting their families, holding everything together while the active duty partner is deployed...if you know a military spouse, reach out to them and lend a hand, drop by with dinner, offer to babysit...bring a bottle of wine...

Today we celebrate the National Day of Prayer. I don't know about you guys, but that's pretty much every day for me. I pray lots. Atheists observe National Day of Reason today - for... reasons.

I'm finding conflicting dates for lots of the things on today's list. This might be National Stepmother's Day. Then again, that might be on the Sunday after Mother's Day. Both dates are listed on multiple sites.  I'm a mom and a step mom, and I love both roles. More to love!

It might be Batman Day, in honor of the first Batman comic published in 1939 on this day. But, Batman Day might also be on June 23rd - because that's showing up on a lot of my sources as well. And, the new Spiderman movie comes out this weekend so that seems like a conflict of interest.

Speaking of Spiderman and super hero fans, It might be National Bubba Day - to honor all of the Bubbas out there. But, that might also fall on June 2nd. My sources can't agree. But my youngest grandson is often called Bubba (that's not his real name) and he's a hybrid super hero. He'll wear his Thor hat with his Spiderman mask with his Hulk clothes. He doesn't care. He's all about being a super Bubba.

One thing my sources all agree on is that today is Loyalty Day. There's nothing like loyalty - knowing that someone will stand with you no matter what, that they won't lie to you and they've got your back - and you've got theirs. That's what loyalty is. No deserters allowed.

Today we celebrate animals! It's Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, National Animal Advocacy Day and International Guide Dogs Day! If you have room in your home, and can be there enough to train and take care of a furry family member, consider adopting a shelter pet. Then you will also be celebrating Animal Advocacy Day.

Guide Dogs are remarkable animals - they are trained companions for humans who need a little help navigating through the world. Can you imagine having the responsibility these dogs have? Always putting the needs of their human before their own? Oh, wait - parents do that all the time. But still, guide dogs are awesome and deserve to be celebrated.

It's also National Honesty Day. So, be honest today. Seriously. There's too much dishonesty and deception out there.

Today we have weird stuff to celebrate, if you can even call it "celebrate". It's #WorldMeningitisDay - to raise awareness of an illness that affects 1.2 million people world-wide annually, and claims the lives of 120,000 every year. It appears like the flu - same symptoms, but potentially deadly and can leave permanent damage for those who survive.

 It's also Take Our Daughters & Sons to Work Day - for some companies, anyway...others schedule this in the summer when kids don't have to miss a day of school to participate.

And, it's National Pigs in a Blanket Day. You know, those little sausages, wrapped with dough and baked - they are pretty delicious, fun little bites of goodness.

Today we celebrate Administrative Professionals Day. It's pretty commonly understood that the department Admin is the glue that holds the team together - you know everyone, you know who to go to if you need to get something done, and you have nearly magical powers to keep the boss calm while managing the tornadoes occurring on your teams.  So, Cheers! Thank you for all you do to keep the wheels turning and prevent them from falling off.

It's also Talk like Shakespeare Day. Maybe I should have started off with that and written this in Shakespeare's English. But then, nay, 'twas better in thought than in practice. Happy 450th Birthday to the Bard! And, it's English Language Day because of William Shakespeare's birthday, too.

Speaking of birthdays, it's the 100th birthday of Wrigley Field - Happy Birthday Wrigley, that iconic ballpark where my beloved Cubs play! (Now, if they could only win!)

 We also celebrate Impossible Astronaut Day - named after an episode of Dr. Who, first broadcast on this day in 2011. It's the most recorded/watched TV show of all time, evidently.

Yesterday we celebrated Easter, and I saw so many lovely and touching posts from all my friends about how they were celebrating the day - church, family time, dinners, egg hunts, chocolate and jelly beans. We also enjoyed all of the above - and at the end of the day, we were EXHAUSTED! It was a beautiful day, couldn't have asked for better weather or better company to spend the day with. We did miss those who couldn't join us though. I hope you all had a wonderful day!

Some of you are aware, yesterday was also National Pot Smokers Day. Therefore, you might not be surprised to find out that today is National Surprise Drug Test Day. Or, you might be...either way, party on, Garth!

Today we also celebrate Bulldogs are Beautiful Day. My husband would definitely agree - he just adores bulldogs.

Today is National That Sucks Day - because it's Tax Day. We don't get refunds, we pay, and pay, and pay. And, that sucks. Adding to the Sucking, this is also a day when we remember several tragedies - the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the sinking of the Titanic, and most recently the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

On to happier topics - it's Rubber Eraser Day - I don’t know about you, but in years past as I calculated my tax returns on the forms that came in the mail, (remember those?) I used plenty of rubber erasers to fix my mistakes. Thankful these days for Turbo Tax, so all we have to do is hit the backspace key to fix errors!

It's also National Library Worker's Day. I respect library workers because it's like running a bookstore (which I did for 10 years) but the books go out, and come back. And go out, and come back. And they have to figure out where to return them to the shelves. That's not as easy as it looks!

And, it's Jackie Robinson Day - in honor of #42, who broke the color barrier in baseball. His gravestone reads, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." which, I wholeheartedly agree with.

Today we celebrate Siblings Day! This is a day to reconnect with your siblings and let them know how much you appreciate them.  This includes whole, half and step siblings. Coming from a multiply blended family as I do, we have all of the above, and amazingly, it's a family with little conflict and LOTS of love! I am SO blessed!

It's also Palindrome day, as the date is a palindrome - 4102014. What's your favorite palindrome? You can go here to pick one: http://www.palindromelist.net/

Encourage a Young Writer today, as it's another thing we celebrate. I absolutely love to see the things young people are coming up with. It seems like kids are trained not to imagine these days. I'd love to see a renaissance of fanciful dreaming!

We also celebrate Golfer's Day. It might be nice enough to golf soon - the ground is super mushy though from absorbing all that snow. I know golfing has been going on in other parts of the country for a while now. Go golf if you can!

And, it's National Farm Animals Day. I think all kids should be exposed to farm animals - it's important that they understand where food comes from. And I'm not talking about the grocery store.

Today we celebrate Name Yourself Day! If you could choose your own name, what would it be? I kind of like the name my parents gave me, but if I could change it, I think I'd go with Lilly, another flower name. Lillies come in many colors and types, unlike heather, which is pretty much a purple flower on a weed.

We also celebrate National Cherish an Antique Day.  An antique is an old collectible item, desirable because of its age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features. It is an object that represents a previous era or time period in human society, and generally applies to things that are at least 100 years old. Do you have any antiques? My Mom does, but just because she never throws anything away and this is stuff she's had all her life.

Today we also honor our veterans with National Former Prisoners of War Recognition Day. Not all veterans have been P.O.Ws but those who were captured suffered and/or died in the pursuit of keeping the rest of us safe and free.

Today we celebrate Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's!  To celebrate their 36th anniversary, they are giving away free small ice cream cones from noon till 8 PM. Go to your nearest Ben & Jerry's and wish them a happy anniversary!

We also celebrate Be Kind to Lawyers Day, so you might want to bring your friendly lawyer with you to Ben & Jerry's. I only know a couple of lawyers, so Doug and Steve, this is for you - Happy Be Kind to Lawyers Day! May everyone you meet be kind to you today.

It's also Draw a Picture of a Bird day. Birds come in all shapes and sizes, so even if you're not spectacularly skilled at the art of drawing and you think you drew a seagull but someone says, "lovely pigeon!" just say thank you and don't try to explain that's not what you intended.

And, it's Equal Pay Day - it symbolizes how far into 2014 women must work to earn what men earned in 2013 for the exact same job. So, ouch.

Today we celebrate National No Housework Day! Ladies and Gentlemen, put down those brooms! Unplug the vacuum! Enjoy what's left of the day by completely ignoring any housework that needs to be done. Of course, if you have a thirsty plant, go ahead and give it a drink - that's not really housework.

Speaking of drinking, it's Legal Beer Day, 3.2 Day and Beer is Back Day, in celebration of the modification of the Volstead Act, which allowed beer with an alcohol content of up to 3.2% to be sold and served. So, cheers!

Did you walk to work today? I didn't. But it's Walk to Work Day, so try to at least walk at work - which I did do. I walked (pushed) my Mom from her rehab center to the Doctor's office and back. Does that count?

It's also Tell a Lie Day. I'm not planning on celebrating that one.

And, it's School Librarian Day. I always liked my school librarians. They would help me pick out books that were interesting and expanded the scope of my universe.

If you know a News Anchor person, give them a hug. It's Hug a Newsman Day and Hug an Anchor Day (the news kind, not the boat kind). Everyone needs a hug now and then, especially if they have to be the bearer of bad news a lot.

Today, we celebrate Don't Go to Work Unless It's Fun Day! Is your workplace fun? I can honestly say that mine is, most of the time. Not that it isn't WORK, because it is, but I have a lot of control over my environment when I'm facilitating leadership academies, and I make every effort to ensure that the week is a lot of fun for the participants. What are you going to do to make work fun today?

It's also World Party Day, which fits neatly with the above mentioned celebration. The point of World Party Day though is to promote world peace. You can't be at war if you're partying, right?  "Party is the Opposite of War" is the slogan for this year's celebration.

And, it's Find a Rainbow Day, which, for us in Chicago-land will more likely appear from the hind end of a unicorn than it will from the sky. We have some bodacious stormage occurring here today. On the other hand, I could just go buy some Skittles so I can taste the rainbow! The holiday listing isn't specific about how/where to find your rainbow.

Two not-so-national things I'm celebrating today are more personal - it's my good friend Gidget's birthday today (she's the inspiration for all things geeky in my life and my partner in crime at the annual Comic-Con, and someone who makes work fun for me!) and my other good friend Karen started her new job today after a several months-long search/interview process. Happy Birthday, Gidget and Congratulations, Karen!

Today is National Day of Hope!  This holiday centers around bringing hope to the lives of abused children. My hope is that people will realize how precious the children in their lives are, and treat them with the love they deserve.

It's also Great Lovers Day. This one is about romantic movies and books, and appreciating the great loves in your life. My greatest love is my awesome husband, of course! But I have lots of non-romantic love in my life too, and that fills my heart to overflowing.

And, it's Reconciliation day, in case there's someone you need to make amends with. So, get busy on that one.

We also celebrate International Children's Book Day! In many ways, children's books shape who these amazing people become. Can you remember any books that you read as a child that influenced the way you see the world? For me, it would be Amelia Bedelia books. She misunderstood figures of speech and took everything very literally, which is something I tend to do, but not because I misunderstand.

Additionally, it's World Autism Awareness Day. I've seen a lot on the web today about this. An estimated 1 out of 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States, which is a ten-fold increase in the last 40 years. Part of the increase is due to improved recognition and diagnosis. There is no one cause of autism just as there is no one type of autism. 

One more - it's National Ferret Day. I currently don't think I know anyone who has a ferret, but a dear friend in high school had one and used to smuggle it to school - that was always fun! 

Today we celebrate Coloring Crayola Day. Coloring has always been one of my favorite things to do - when I was a kid I could color for hours. Does anyone remember the segment on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, where he went to the Crayola factory and they showed him how they make crayons? I found it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59e7WYd24gI

It's also "She's Funny That Way" Day. That's a saying you can apply to anyone, to describe their quirks. Such as...I don't eat eggs and bananas. Because I'm just funny that way. Who do you know who is funny that way?

We also celebrate the invention of the Bunsen Burner today. To be more precise, we celebrate the birthday of the guy who invented the Bunsen Burner. Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen, was born in 1811, and died in 1899.