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April 5, 2014

Today we celebrate:

National Love Our Children Day – Celebrated on the first Saturday in April and recognized by proclamation of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg every year that he was Mayor (presumably this will be done by the new Mayor as well), this day is about seeing the value of children and giving them the love, protection and respect they need.

National Raisin & Spice Bar Day – This appears to be a southern dessert so perhaps my southern friends could weigh in on whether this would be a good recipe. http://southernfood.about.com/od/browniesbars/r

Go For Broke Day – This was the motto of the 443rd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated Japanese-American unit serving in World War II, and one of the most decorated units in the army. The day specifically highlights one of the members of that unit, Sadao S. Munemori, who died on this day in 1945 in the process of saving two men in his unit. His actions that day are also credited with contributing a great deal to the ultimate success of his unit's mission.

National Deep Dish Pizza Day – Originated in Chicago in 1943, the purpose of this day is to spread awareness of this delicious alternative to the junk food classic.

International Pillow Fight Day – This day is celebrated all over the world with humongous pillow fights.  Check out the following website for a list of locations hosting pillow fighting events: http://2014.pillowfightday.com/ Better yet, don’t tell your kids about this day, just launch a sneak attack!

Tangible Karma Day – This is a day of giving. Giving your time, skills, or possessions you don’t need, to others is the theme for this day which is always celebrated on the first Saturday in April. Do whatever you can to help someone today: volunteer to help a friend, have a party where you give away things you don't need, volunteer at a local charity.  http://tangiblekarma.com/organize.php


To celebrate today, volunteer to love the children by handing out raisin & spice bars and deep dish pizza to all the children you encounter today.  While you have their attention, tell them about the 443rd Regimental Combat Team and Sadao S. Munemori.  Finally, before bedtime launch a sneak pillow attack on your children, spouse or neighbors, whoever presents a handy target.

April 4, 2014

Today we celebrate:

Victims of Violence Holy Day – This is the anniversary of MLK's death. The second of three Emancipation Days of Respect which honor the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. by promoting respect, unity and remembrance.

National Cordon Bleu Day – Get yourself a tenderized chicken breast, wrap it around some sliced ham, roll it in some breading and bake. There's dinner for you.

School Librarian Day – Another day with some controversy regarding when it should be celebrated. But it definitely should be celebrated at some point. Where would we be in our educational lives without the School Librarian. I have heard that some schools have had to cut their librarians to save money and I think that is a disservice to the children of those schools.  Librarians are an invaluable resource for almost any situation you can think of.

Hug A Newsman Day – We depend on our newspeople to keep us informed about what is going on in the world as a whole as well as in our own little piece of it.  Sometimes they do sensationalize a bit to get us to read/watch their reports because ultimately it all comes down to making money.  We all have to eat after all and newspeople are no different in that regard.

Walk Around Things Day – I am really going to celebrate this day with every fiber of my being.  I am determined that I am not going to walk into one single thing today.  I am going to join in the spirit of the day and walk around and not through everything that even comes close to being in my path.  The bruises that I already have on my legs do not need any friends to join them.  Just keep in mind that obstacles that need to be avoided are not always physical, they can be emotional as well.  Contemplate that one for a while.


International Carrot Day – Begun in 2003, this is a day for carrot lovers all over the world.  Apparently, these were first grown as medicine instead of food centuries ago. There are many different kinds of carrots so experiment a little, I'm sure you will find one to your liking. http://www.carrotday.com/

Tell A Lie Day – I have seen a website that links this day to George Orwell's 1984 because the main character was forced to live a lie. Whatever the origin, today is a day to be less than truthful, not something I normally encourage so I'm hoping my children don't look at this today.

International Day For Mine Awareness & Assistance In Mine Action – There are many places in this world where hidden landmines left over from past wars make life very dangerous for the people who have to live in those former war zones. http://www.un.org/en/events/mineawarenessday/

Vitamin C Day – Focus on what you are eating today. Are you getting enough Vitamin C in the foods you eat? Maybe you need to eat more spinach or citrus fruits. I know, not exactly what you wanted to hear.  But it’s important to maintain a healthy body and it’s better for you to get your vitamins from fruits and vegetables rather than from pills.

World Rat Day – This is a day to highlight the fancy rat and how it is a great pet to have. But I'm not going to tell you that because I don't want my children to start wanting one. So you'll have to look at the web page and decide for yourself. http://www.worldratday.com/WhatIs.html

National D.A.R.E. Day – Every year, the President of the United States designates a day around this time of year to be a National D.A.R.E. Day. D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education and it involves police officers educating kids in school about the hazards of drugs.

Hospital Admitting Clerks Day – Celebrated on the first Friday in April, this is a day to recognize the contributions of Hospital Admitting Clerks.  The admitting clerks are vital members of the hospital staff. It's not just about the doctors and nurses, without people to handle the paperwork and administrative details, the hospital would not be able to function.

National Walk To Work Day – Always celebrated on the first Friday in April, get those sneakers laced up and let's hope it doesn't rain today or snow for that matter considering the winter we experienced this year.

To celebrate today, while you are out and about walking to work, make sure you watch for land mines and carefully walk around them.  Walk by a hospital and stop in to thank the admitting clerks with a gift of carrots.  Next stop should be the newspaper office where you will find a newsman to hug, then when you get to work, call up your school librarian and invite her over for a dinner of cordon bleu.  While you are at work, lie to your co-workers and tell them you love rats.  When you get home to prepare the cordon bleu, tell your kids all about D.A.R.E., add something full of Vitamin C to your dinner menu and say a prayer for all of the victims of violence in the world.

April 3, 2014

Today we celebrate:

Education And Sharing Day – Established by Presidential Proclamation in 1978 and renewed each year since, this day celebrates the birthday of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. The Rabbi was an advocate for youth and for education. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.

National Chocolate Mousse Day – Rich and creamy, sweet and chocolatey, what could be a better dessert?

Don't Go To Work Unless It's Fun Day – If work is a drag, don't go today. Take a fun day off. If, on the other hand, you have fun at your job or your boss has fun activities planned for today, you don't want to miss out on that.

Tweed Day – You appear to have a choice today. You can either celebrate the fabric called tweed by wearing tweed clothing, or you can celebrate the Senator-turned-crook William “Boss” Tweed who was born on this day in 1823. This famous evil-doer stole up to $200 million from the public, which back in the 1800's was a whole lot more than it is now and even now it’s a lot of money.  He was convicted in 1877 and although he managed to escape once, he was recaptured and shortly after died in jail in 1878.

Find A Rainbow Day – Keep your eye on the skies today and see if you can find a rainbow today. If you just can’t find one, make your own. There are a multitude of rainbow crafts that you can do with your kids. Be creative!

Pony Express Day – On this day in 1860, the Pony Express began operations. As I’m sure you know, the Pony Express delivered mail by horse and rider relay teams.  A braver set of mailmen has never existed in my opinion. The hazards these men endured just to deliver mail were incredible. They cut the time for mail delivery across the country from a month or more to approximately 10 days which was amazing back then.

Weed Out Hate: Sow The Seeds Of Greatness Day – There is far too much hate going around, we need to get rid of it and spread positive feelings and tolerance. http://www.weedouthate.org/documents/aboutus.html

World Party Day or World Singing Day – Begun in 1996, this day is focused on a world wide synchronized celebration hoping to bring about improved social conditions. The idea being that the opposite of war must be a great, big, humongous, party.  Your celebrations can be in the form of a great big party with fireworks, food and music or something quieter with just you and a friend or two having a quiet dinner or anything in between.

Paraprofessional Appreciation Day – A paraprofessional is a person trained to assist a professional. You find them in lots of different organizations like schools, lawyer's offices, doctor's offices, etc. Today, all of you paraprofessionals out there, we appreciate you.

To celebrate today, skip work so you can wear tweed and write letters to all the paraprofessionals you know. Then borrow a pony and be your own pony express while you ride around town delivering your letters.  Sing while you ride and keep your eyes open for rainbows.  Then stop at a school to educate the youth about how to spread positive feelings instead of negative ones.  Finally, celebrate the end of a day well done with a bowl of chocolate mousse.

April 2, 2014

Today we celebrate:

National Peanut Butter And Jelly Day – Celebrating a basic staple for children's lunches. There was a time when peanut butter and mint jelly sandwiches were all my daughters would eat in sandwich form.

International Children's Book Day – Sponsored by the International Board On Books For Young People, this day is celebrated with writing contests and author events. Today was chosen for this particular celebration because it is Hans Christian Andersen's birthday. http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/childrensbooks101/f/book_day.htm

World Autism Awareness Day – This is a day to raise awareness of the increasing prevalence of autism. Autism organizations have been celebrating this day for 7 years with fundraising for research and treatments as well as awareness events. Autism affects so many more families today than it did when I was a kid, we HAVE to figure out what is causing it.  When I was younger autism struck 1 out of 250 children.  Now, I just heard on the radio a couple of days ago, it affects 1 out of 68.  Yes, that is 68, no longer the 1 out of 88 that we have been hearing about for a while now.  This is important, people, we have to figure out what is causing this because if we don’t, there will soon be more children with autism than there are children without it.

National Love Your Produce Manager Day – I think most of us could use more fresh produce in our diets. A great produce manager is vital if you want your grocery store to stock the best and freshest produce possible.

National Day Of Hope – Celebrated on the first Wednesday in April, this is a day to remember children who have been victims of child abuse and neglect.

National Ferret Day - Celebrated in the United Kingdom as well as the United States, and maybe other countries as well, this is a day to appreciate ferrets and to teach the public all about how to take care of them and be a responsible ferret owner.  They aren’t quite like cats and dogs although some people get ferrets thinking that they are and then they don’t know what to do with them.

Whole Grain Sampling Day – Celebrated on the first Wednesday in April and sponsored by the Whole Grain Council, the goal here is to have numerous opportunities, at numerous locations, all day long, for people to try different whole grains they may have never tried before. Experiment and see what is out there that you can add to your diet. http://wholegrainscouncil.org/get-involved/whole-grain-sampling-day

Reconciliation Day – Begun by Ann Landers, the late advice columnist, today is a day for mending relationships. Take the first step and reach out in friendship. You never know where that might take you. There is also a Reconciliation Day celebrated today in South Africa but it is a day to celebrate the end of the violence that happened between the black and white communities during Apartheid.

National Walking Day – Also celebrated on the first Wednesday in April, this is a day to lace up your shoes and step out.  It’s good exercise and very environmentally friendly. What more could you ask for?  Oh yeah, it’s also great for your heart and is sponsored by the American Heart Association.  http://www.startwalkingnow.org/about_start_walking_day.jsp

To celebrate today, walk to your favorite grocery store, reconcile your differences with the produce manager and share a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread with him/her.  Then, offer a prayer for children who have been victimized child abuse before you invite some families of autistic children with ferrets over for a Children’s book swap party.