May 12, 2017

Today we celebrate:

Military Spouse Appreciation Day - Celebrated on the Friday before Mother’s Day, this day acknowledges how hard it is being a military spouse. Many times your spouse is sent to war overseas and you don’t see him/her for months at a time. Other times your whole family is uprooted and sent to God knows where with only a few weeks or even days notice. It takes a special person to be able to deal with that and those people deserve some appreciation and support today.

National Public Gardens Day - Celebrated on the Friday before Mother’s Day, this is a day to spread awareness of all of the beautiful botanical, historic, and public gardens, arboretums, zoos and any other places that promote plant conservation, environmental issues, water conservation, green space preservation and encourage home gardening practices.

Limerick Day – Edward Lear was born on this day in 1812. While he didn't create limericks, which are an Irish form of poetry, he was very well known for writing great limericks like this one:

There was an Old Man with a beard

Who said, “It is just as I feared!

Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren,

Have all built their nests in my beard.”

You should try your hand at writing some amazing limericks today as well.

National Nutty Fudge Day – I'm not a real big fudge lover and I don't care for nuts with my chocolate, but I know that I’m in the minority here so if you feel differently, today is the day for you.

International Nurses Day – This day is celebrated every year on Florence Nightingale's birthday and it is a day to honor nurses all over the world. It takes a caring and dedicated person to be a nurse and we depend on them every time we go to any doctor's office or hospital.

Odometer Day – Today is a day to reminisce with your vehicle. Think back to where you have been with your vehicle for however many miles are on it. Where have you gone and what have you done? I hope it was something fun and memorable and worth reminiscing about and not just innumerable trips to the grocery store.

International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological And Neurological Diseases (CIND) – This day has been used for spreading awareness of CIND since 1992. These diseases include Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia (ME/CFS), Gulf War Syndrome, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. This day was chosen as it is Florence Nightingale's birthday and you may be surprised to find out that it is believed that she suffered from ME/CFS.

Provider Appreciation Day – Begun in 1996, and celebrated on the Friday before Mother’s Day, this is a day to appreciate your childcare provider, and anyone else who spends any amount of time taking care of your child. Working parents, in particular, have reason to be grateful to their childcare providers, but even parents who do not work outside the home have need of childcare help now and then, if not...well you might want to consider it, you deserve a night out now and then.

Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks A Voice – Celebrated on the second Friday in May, this is a day to make a difference in the life of a shark. Shark populations are being depleted and we need to do something about it.

One Day Without Shoes Day – This is a day to raise awareness of children's health and education issues by going barefoot. Children in the world with poor health and an inadequate or non-existent education are generally located in areas with great poverty so they won’t have access to shoes either. Shoes are only one way to help these children but they are a start. At least shoes can help them with foot hygiene issues which is a step in the right direction.