Thursday, March 10, 2016

It should be International Celebration Day ... EVERYDAY

So this week was International Women's Day - look it up here, it's a thing.  And yes, there's an International Men's Day too if you're worried.  Although to me, International Talk Like A Pirate Day sounds much more fun (I need to remember next year).

What I thought was quite nice, there were some folk on Twitter thanking and celebrating women they'd felt had been influential.  The problem is - if you missed it, then I guess you need to wait 365 days til next year to celebrate someone you thought was influential.  Heck, less if that person is male!

Or maybe you can tell them right now?  Or let the world know right now?  What's stopping you?  Do you REALLY need a special day to do it?

Celebrating people in our life is something I think we can be really crap about.  It's "not cool", and certainly something as a teen-uncomfortable-with-emotion brought me out in a sweat.  It's unfortunate, but it took something sad to snap me out of it.

I've talked before about my grandmother who died in 2014.  She was very dear to me, but I couldn't always say it.  Sadly she was diagnosed with early Alzheimer's the week before I got married - it was an absolute bombshell for me - I realised she wouldn't be around forever.  But as sad as that realisation was, it led to something good.  It made me realised that saying "I love you", holding her hand, hugging her as long as I could - it was all important, and it made her day.  And as hard as losing her in 2014 was, there are no major regrets - and those memories you have are all the "warm fuzzy kind".  You only regret there wasn't room for an extra one or two.

I guess I must have got into the habit - when my friend Violet died unexpectedly in 2010, I was obviously sad, and continue to be.  But I know I told her how important she was, and said all those important things that need to be said between best friends.

Make celebrating people and being thankful for them something you don't wait to be prompted for "a special day" to do.

No comments:

Post a Comment