Dates. Not the kind you go on with the opposite sex. Not the type you eat. I’m talking about those numbers on a calendar; particularly the ones that mean something. Dates, you see, are often anything but trivial. Many even have widely popular and Webster-worthy names. Blind dates. First dates. Travel dates. Game dates. Dates with destiny.
Dates are magical numbers in our lives. In posting my previous blog, my very first one, I noticed it was on June 9, a somewhat surprising memorable day for me. You see, June 9 was our daughter’s due date. For nearly nine months that was “the” day for me, as everything revolved around it. Now, 19 years later, I still remember it and find it somewhat prophetic that this empty nester’s first blog was posted on that very date…all by coincidence. The reason I find it surprisingly memorable is because June 9 is not my daughter Kristen’s birthday. No, she decided to come 3 ½ weeks early on May 16. Still, June 9 will forever hold a special place in my memory bank.
We all have our own “June 9’s,” or what I like to call distinctive dates. Birthdays. Anniversaries. The day you won the lottery. These, you might say, are the happy, celebratory ones. We also, however, have more somber dates etched in our minds. The day a loved one passed away, the day of a personal tragic event and, of course, September 11, a date that will never be the same for most of us.
Future dates are also significant. Our smart phones and laptops are filled with them. We use them to plan our lives and sometimes even those of others. We boast of target dates, holy dates, and dates that we promise to start something new or achieve something grand. But, “a goal without a date is just a dream,” (Milton H. Erickson), so choose your dates wisely. Literally!
I recently saw a cute idea called “The Dates Our Lives Were Forever Changed” on Pinterest via etsy to commemorate special dates. It’s a framed print of dates of your choice. It got me thinking: what dates would I include on it? How about you, what dates would you use? Do you have one that’s personally unique or one the rest of us haven’t thought of? Do share!
In the end, today may not be a “special” date for you, but make it special anyway and, as Annette Funicello once said, “life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful.”
Have a wonderful day!
Beyond Words 