Dear Kid,

It is that time of year when college announce that there are celebrations beyond major league football and that Diversity Is To Be Respected.

Not a terrible reminder, but too bad it’s a necessary reminder.

Ohio University even sent a link to a webpage that lists Every Holiday One Should Reasonably Be Aware Of. I find it somewhat amusing that the webpage in question is produced at the University of Missouri. But it’s a great resource and even lists major Wiccan holidays which I don’t believe I’ve seen on other sites.

So yay for Major Holidays and Events.

And September 23^rd is a great day for Major Events.

Most importantly, it is your Grandmother’s Birthday! I’m sure you’ve already called, but just in case…

It’s also the Autumn Equinox which means Happy Fall. I’m sure you’ve already sent Fall a text, but just in case…

The Equinox is the point at which there are exactly (and by “exactly” I actually mean “exactly”) the same number of daylight and nightlight hours. Hmm… perhaps light and dark? That sounds like something out of Genesis. Anyway, day and night hours are even. If you live at the equator. If you don’t live at the equator (and I happen to be quite sure you don’t) then it’s uneven.

No matter where you live, tomorrow there will be more dark than there is today. Which is sad (at least for me). This will continue until the Winter Solstice which is the shortest day of the year and marks the beginning of winter.

I think winter would be much better if it weren’t accompanied by so much darkness and snowness. But that’s a discussion for another day.

Being the kind of mother I am, I checked (very carefully) and I can find no precedent for claiming that the Autumn Equinox is a day you should be allowed to skip class. I was equally unable to find any indication that it being Grandma’s birthday should be a reasonable diversity holiday cause for class skippage. There was even a footnote on one site that said (and I quote) “And if it be a math class, thou shalt doubly get thee to class and calleth thy grandmother at a different time.”

I checked, really I did.

So enjoy classes, and the Equinox, and have a piece of birthday cake in honor of Those Celebrating Birthdays.

Love, Mom

Happy Birthday, Mom–and many, many more!

Dear Kid,

Once upon a time an amoeba was born. (Are amoebas born?) No one noticed because there were no people at the time. The universe waited.

Eventually, people were born. Generally individually. Their mothers usually noticed, but since the main family activity was Don’t Get Eaten, no one had time to celebrate the occasion on an annual basis. The universe sighed, and waited.

Finally, people figured out how to avoid getting eaten (at least most of the time) and they had time to invent birthdays and birthday cake. The universe smiled and waited for a slice. Preferably with extra icing. The universe is like that.

See why history is so important?

The Romans invented the birthday cake. Not to be outdone, the Greeks invented putting candles on the birthday cake, because everyone knows that melted wax is an excellent flavor enhancer. It’s also really fun to watch little kids try to blow out candles. The universe isn’t interested in waiting for people to think of wishes (they had all year to think about it) and just wants another small slice of cake please.

Call or text Grandma Lala–today is her birthday. The universe is pretty happy about that.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Happy Birthday, America!

The Fourth of July is our national holiday for picnics, the 1812 Overture, and fireworks. It is also a time to think about freedom.

There are all different kinds of freedom. There is freedom of speech, freedom from debt, freedom to vote, freedom from hunger…it’s a long list.

With college comes more freedom. Certainly different kinds of freedom. You’ll have the freedom to make choices about how you behave, about who you spend time with, about where you go. You’ll have the freedom to eat ice cream for breakfast or stay up for days at a time. But just because you have the option, doesn’t mean you should choose to act in a way that might make some people raise an eyebrow.

As you move in to a time of more freedom, take a moment to think about who you want to be. Freedom means (equally) the option to choose to say yes or no. (The occasional wacky meal is not a bad thing; eating nothing but ice cream for four years is probably not a recipe for success.)

Happy 4th!

Love, Mom

1812 Overture and fireworks provided for your viewing pleasure.