Mark the Date!

 We are already past the middle of December. Christmas will be here in less than a week and one week after that, we will be starting a new year! I thought we just did this…

    One of the usual things I do, often on the 2^nd or 3^rd day of the New Year is to get a couple new calendars. One to be hung in the kitchen and one that will set on the desk upstairs. Not long afterwards, I’ll start the process of marking all the important dates onto the new calendars.

    When I was working I had three calendars. I needed one for inside my toolbox. How else would I be able to remind my co-workers which day was Johnny Appleseed’s (John Chapman) birthday? (September 26, 1774) That's no longer needed.

    I wish I could remember all the important anniversaries there are. Of course, some are much more important than others. There are some that I don't want to miss! Sadly my memory doesn’t work as well as I wish it did, the ability to remember seems to fade a bit more each year. I’m just guessing that all the fun and excitement of my younger life may have helped that skill to diminish.

    I have been making notes for myself for decades. The idea was that if I write it down, it will become engrained in my memory banks. Unfortunately, it just clutters my desk with scraps of paper. They lay scattered at random across the surface, under the laptop and stuck in books as bookmarks. The problem with “notes” is that not all of them need saved for the same amount of time. I often find packing lists from trips taken months ago alongside lists of quotes meant to be saved. I don’t spend enough time separating and sorting them all. The calendars definitely help in this regard.

    Looking back at all the notes on my calendar, I see doctor’s appointments, auto service dates, birthdays, death anniversaries and notes about past explorations and other important memories.

    The notations remain pretty constant. I add much more as compared to the ones I eliminate, so my notations increase yearly. 

    Calendars have been around for what seems like forever and there are many different types. Stonehenge is a solar calendar. There are Lunar calendars, Hebrew, Chinese, Islamic and Aztec to name just a few. They reside on our computers and phones. We use the Gregorian calendar ourselves. This went into effect in October of 1582, a replacement for the Julian calendar which most of the world used until then.

    Marking my new calendars is a process that usually takes 3-5 days, depending on how busy I am. This year I am getting a head start on things having bought a couple during a recent shopping trip. I actually enjoy copying down all these dates. I often come across things which make me smile, (My grandson Mateo’s first library card 10/30/22) and also things which bring back sad memories. (Big Red RIP- 12/19/21) I remember times spent with co-workers and remember fun trips taken years ago (Crossing the White Mountains with Ann Marie 5/18/08).

    Some may think it’s foolish to spend all this time “writing” down all these events but I enjoy it. It is a trip down memory lane, a street I often have difficulty finding!

    Here are a couple bits of calendar trivia;

·        This coming year, 2024, is a leap year, having 366 days.

·        Italy and England didn’t start the new year on Jan. 1^st until 1750

·        There was no year 0, there are 999 years between 500BC and 500AD

·        If you save your 2023 calendar, you can reuse it in 2034, 2045 and 2051

·        If you still have one hanging around, you can use the calendars from 1940, 1968 and 1996 next year.

 So, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and of course, Happy New Year a week or so early! I know it will be a good one; we get an extra day to enjoy this year! Let's make the most of it!