Dear Kid,

Yes, it is finally here.

September 28^th is Ask a Stupid Question Day.

Because no matter how often people say “there is no such thing as a stupid question” we all know that’s not true. There are plenty of stupid questions and people ask them all the time.

Usually we celebrate stupid questions by rolling our eyes, repeating the answer v-e-r-y slowly, and moving away from the asker (Note: Stupid Questions are not contagious, but they are annoying).

Today, however, we celebrate the Stupid Question. You get to say things like “Congratulations! That was a really stupid question! Way to go, dude!”

This usually leaves the asker even more confused since they aren’t aware that it’s Stupid Question Day—which in turn leads to celebrating more stupid questions. Like “huh?”

Once you get into the swing of things, you might be surprised to discover just how much fun Stupid Question Day can be.

(Note: Keep in mind it’s not Stupid Answer Day. The goal is not to come up with increasingly stupid statements.)

When was Ask a Stupid Question Day created? In the 1980s

Who created Ask a Stupid Question Day? Teachers. I kid you not.

Why? To try to get more kids to ask questions.

Has it worked? (That may be too stupid even for today.)

Happy Ask a Stupid Question Day!

Love, Mom

Women are confusing. –Any man, any age

Dear Kid,

Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacity…

If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man’s superior…

If non-violence is the law of our being, the future is with women…

Mahatma Ghandi

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day.

“What?” you ask, “We need one of those? Around here, women are pretty much in charge.”

Yes, and yes.

In our family, women are pretty much in charge (and it seems to be working out pretty well) and you have been well taught to respect and appreciate that.

However, in many parts of the world, and in many parts of the US, this is far from true. Which is ridiculous and awful and costing the world a fortune in brains and bodies, but there you are.

The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women’s education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

The first International Women’s Day was held in 1911 which proves that even when many of us are trying, evolution is slow. In 1975, the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8th which continues to be the accepted Day.

This year’s official International Women’s Day theme is Inspiring Change.

Some people inspire change in a big way (Mahatma Ghandi, Malala Yousafzai); some inspire change on a much smaller scale (elementary school teacher Mrs. Zellner).

In fact, most people have the ability to inspire change. Hopefully, we inspire good change in people.

What kind of inspiration do you want to be to the women (and the men) in your life?

Love, Mom