Dear Kid,

Some things are better left alone. Some questions just shouldn’t be asked. And yet, I often find myself asking them.

Questions like: What the HECK is Yellow Pig Day?

So glad you asked.

Yellow Pig Day is celebrated on July 17 and it’s all about the number 17.

It was invented in the 1960s (which should explain a LOT). Back in the day, two math students at Princeton were obsessively studying the number 17 (that should explain a little more). They went a little mad (IMHO “mad” does not mean crazy so much as it means something else—did I mention this was in the 60s?) and decided to invent the idea of a yellow pig with 17 toes, 17 teeth, 17 eyelashes, etc.

Creating new and prime creatures is not generally considered a sound way to launch a career, but it seemed to work for those two.

Yellow Pig Day is sometimes celebrated on May 17^th (stick with me here: May is the 17^th month of the previous year). Other mathematicians have gone “a little mad” and not felt any trouble bending the Gregorian calendar to fit their own needs.

If you feel the need to celebrate Yellow Pig Day, I suggest eating yellow food and wishing those around you a happy Yellow Pig Day.

I do not suggest oinking or inventing new ways to interpret the calendar.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Do you know what tomorrow is? Do you KNOW?

It’s possibly the most amazing day in the history of days. Not really. But it might very well be the most amazing day this week. If we’re not including last Sunday which was Father’s Day. Because that’s a pretty amazing day.

Let’s start again.

Tomorrow is possibly the most amazing Friday of the week!

And – wait for it – it’s Take Your Dog To Work Day! How wonder-fur is that?

TYDTWD (that’s how you say it if you’re cool and in the know) started in 1996 in the UK. We adopted it on this side of the pond in 1999. And somehow, I’ve gone All This Time without knowing it existed. I have no words.

The point of TYDTWD (just for the record, that is not an easy acronym to type) is not to get your pooch to shed all over the office couch. That’s just an added benefit. The point is that pups are an important part of our lives and we should have an opportunity to let them all get together and prevent us from getting any work done.

No. The official point (as defined by the official inventors of the day, Pet Sitters International) is that dog-less co-workers will be encouraged to race out and adopt a dog when they see how wonderful the bond is between human and puppy.

I’m not sure exactly how this is supposed to work. “Oh, look at that adorable dog sniffing that other dog’s butt. Let me race out and get one.” Seems unlikely.

Or perhaps, “Sorry boss, I couldn’t get the report done because the dog ate my report. I mean ate my computer. I mean I have to go walk the dog.”

Despite my skepticism, Take Your Dog to Work Day continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Which is pretty dang cool.

Unfortunately, my Place of Employment is insufficiently enlightened, so the Puppy will stay at home and nap rather than joining me at work and napping.

Still, I’m pretty excited to know that Take Your Dog To Work Day exists. Hope you’re planning a great celebration.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Memorial Day | To those who serve…thank you.

Today is Memorial Day.

Ostensibly, it is a day to honor those who died while serving our country in the military. I think it needs to be much more than that.

Yes, we need to remember and thank those who died in service to our country. We also need to thank those who served and did not die. Very few return from war the way they left. For many, the scars run deep.

We need to remember and thank those who sent family to serve in the military. The loneliness, the uncertainty, the fear. For many, the scars run deep.

We need to remember and thank those who support our military. The medical professionals, the journalists, the counselors. For many, the scars run deep.

We need to remember and thank those in our country who value the freedoms our military fights for. Those who argue and persuade and celebrate the diversity and differences of opinion that make us a great country. Those who work to help heal the scars of divisiveness and horror. Those who work to bring us closer to the world that We, The People, know can be created.

In remembering, we look forward. In honoring the past, we make room for the future.

Let us never forget so that we will never repeat.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Today is National Armed Forces Day. (It’s also National Waiters and Waitresses Day which I suppose in some instances is like being in battle, but since the worst that will happen in a restaurant is a chocolate stain, I’m going to focus on Armed Forces Day.)

Sometime in the past (after History was born but before the current millennium), there were Days in the US set aside to recognize the different branches of the military. President Harry S. Truman (who really had no middle name—just an initial) established a single holiday “for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.”

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day.

Today is a day of graduation parties, of finishing high school and looking ahead to the next chapter.

For those going to college, congratulations, study hard, and read DearKidLoveMom. For those going into the work force, congratulations, work hard, and read DearKidLoveMom. For those going into the military or an ROTC program, congratulations, serve proudly, and thank you for your service. And read DearKidLoveMom.

To all those who have served or who are currently serving, we thank you.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Happy Sunday!

It’s the 8^th and all across the land, people are celebrating the essence of the day. Yes, that’s right. It’s No Socks Day. (Didn’t see that one coming, did you?)

In honor of No Sock Day, I am not wearing socks (see how that works?).

I went barefoot for coffee, sockless when Dad and I went out to run errands, and sockless when I planted the spinach we picked up on our errand run.

Ridiculously, it’s a little too chilly and rainy for socklessness, but I sacrificed my toes in order to celebrate. I’m just that kind of girl.

Happy Today.

Love, Mom