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| [image courtesy of Unsplash] |
I was at a loss as to what to write about today, so I decided to let the day itself dictate the topic.
So what's special about this day?
Well, for one thing, February first is the day Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th amendment, which ended slavery in the United States. In 1948, Truman honored the event by making today National Freedom Day as a way to recognize America as a symbol of freedom.
May freedom and justice become realities... and not just lofty ideals or symbols... both in the U.S. and in every corner of the world.
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. [Martin Luther King, Jr.]
So, please... feel free to celebrate! We can't all visit the Liberty Bell to lay a wreath, but we can most certainly go to Taco Bell for lunch.
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| [image courtesy of Morguefile] |
Know what else today is?
Hula in the Coola Day! Woo HOO!
Know how to celebrate? Go outside and do the hula, of course! Maybe you could have a luau, even. With tiki torches and ukuleles, the whole bit. (On the plus side, if there's snow on the ground in your neck of the woods, maybe the tiki torches will encourage it to melt...?)
Reminds me a little of the one and only time I ever went trick-or-treating. I was thirteen years old. My father was... let's just say he was difficult... so Halloween at our house meant locking the door, closing the drapes, and turning out the lights. Forget giving candy to any so-and-so neighborhood kids, let alone allowing this so-and-so kid to go out begging for it. But that year... my father was working the 3 to 11 shift, and my mother said I could go out with my friends. (Yes, there may possibly have been some uber dramatic begging involved.) Anyhow, I decided to go as a hula dancer. Yeah. In Maryland. In October. I made the coolest grass skirt ever out of crepe paper, and I decorated a bra top out the wazoo, and I even had a lei. I was ready, baby!
My mother said no way.
She made me wear a sweater under the decorated-out-the-wazoo bra top, dungarees under the skirt, and a big old coat over top. Let's just say I didn't do the hula... but don't let that stop YOU from doing it today!
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| [image courtesy of morguefile] |
Let's see... what else is being celebrated today...?
Well, it's Change Your Password Day. (You can go first...) It's also G.I. Joe Day, a day to celebrate the first doll designed just for boys. Yeah, yeah, I know. NOT a doll. An action figure. (I wonder why he and Barbie never got together? Think her personality's too plastic for him?)
Today is also (ta-Da!) Decorating with Candy Day. Pretty cool, I guess, but heck, I celebrate that darned near every day. I simply love to decorate my tummy with candy...
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| [image courtesy of morguefile] |
Today is also National Serpent Day and Robinson Crusoe Day. (Rather fitting that the day falls on a Friday this year, dontcha think?)
Somehow, I think expectations are higher than simply crawling out of bed, but at least, I accomplished that much. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.
Tomorrow, I may touch my toes.
I saved the best for last.
Actually, today is the first day of a whole month's celebration of us sassy women over fifty who refuse to get old quietly, and who are hell-bent on living a regret-free life. YAY, us!!!
Today is the oldest you've ever been and the youngest you'll ever be, so make the most of it!
Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.
Hooray for spunky old broads, including this one. Smiling broadly at the song. Megathanks.
ReplyDeleteYES! Spunky old broads are the best! We may be old on the outside, but by golly, we've still got lots of spit and vinegar left.
DeleteI'm glad you liked that song. :)
haha I think I'll avoid any hulas in this cold. Sounds like your mother made the right choice. I'll get up and out, not that I want to work.
ReplyDeleteHey, if those nutty "polar bear" people can jump into icy water this time of year, surely a young fella like you can do an outdoor hula...? (Keep the hips moving reeeeally fast, and you might stay warm...)
DeleteYeah, my mother was right. :)
Might be a bit chilly for October. However, I'm going to see if I can get my wife to wear one this summer...
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was a LOT chilly for October, but I was a dumb thirteen-year old who wanted to look "cool." I would've looked cool, all right. I would've been blue. HA!
DeleteThere ya go. Maybe you and your wife should have a luau this summer... even if it's only for the two of you. :)
Hi Susan - what a fabulous post for a misty gloomy day - making me smile all day - quite delightful. Trickle treating in October does really deserve slightly more clothes! Still fun to think about ... have a happy weekend - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHi-ya, Hilary. If this post made you smile, even a little, my mission here is complete... :) I'm glad you liked it. You're right. It was WAY too cold to dress as a hula dancer in October. I can laugh about it now, but what can I say? I was thirteen... :)
DeleteYou have a happy weekend, too. Cheers back atcha.
sounds like today is a fun day. I'm already up. Maybe I'll have candy for breakfast. Shall I hula at work - that could be scary. Or I'll just be a crazy spunky old broad. I'm with you in whatever fun you cook up today - maybe even a baked Alaska. Have a super weekend.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, you should totally hula at work! (Take a selfie!)
DeleteOr we could simply continue to be crazy spunky old broads today. Just like every other fantastic day...
You have a super weekend, too.
Your mother said no? I can't imagine why. I want that girl's abs though.
ReplyDeleteI know, right??? HA.
DeleteYou can have those kinda abs. Hula dance. :) (Or even better, belly dance!)
It is also Wear Red Day for support of Heart Health too! You are so right we are all winners, For me slow and steady wins the race every time ! I am younger today than I will be tomorrow, so I'll be making the most of it ! Wishing you a very happy Friday, February 1st.
ReplyDeleteLove and hugs!
'ma'
Leave it to you to come up with another reason to celebrate today. :) You always find some terrific ones.
DeleteHave a super weekend. Love and hugs back atcha.
Oh, I love that song, Susan. It has inspired me to jump out of bed instead of sliding slowly. I’ll just have to avoid not stepping on that hairball I heard my cat up-chuck last night. I am very proud of my laugh wrinkles as I got them for enjoying life and although I am old on the outside, I will be forever young inside (well, maybe not my kidneys and other assorted organs).
ReplyDeleteYour mother was right for not letting you shake your maracas and other parts in the cold. I, on the other hand, dressed my seven year old daughter up as Dolly Parton for the school Halloween parade. She has never forgiven me for that.
Thank you for this wonderful, positive post.
Isn't that song super? I'll probably be yodeling "Older ladieeees..." the rest of the day. :)
DeleteMe, too. Our spirits are young, anyway. As long as we keep laughing and finding the sunny side, we've got it made.
HA! I LOVE that you dressed your daughter as Dolly! Complete with a big wig and suitably-placed balloons, I take it?
Have a wonderful weekend, dear lady. Stay warm!
It's a beautiful day for seizing the day, and you've inspired me to do just that. Walking shoes on and all! Although, for the moment I'm just trying to catch up on blog comments before I get a full year behind!
ReplyDeleteI bet you made a cute hula girl, but I also bet you're glad you had that coat! :)
Have a beautiful day and an even better weekend!
Good for you! (I'm picturing you walking on that beach now...)
DeleteOkay, okay, so I'll admit it. I would've frozen my skinny little butt off without that coat. (Mothers know best!)
You, too. Keep writing! (AFTER your walk, of course...)
Huzzah for spunky old broads who refuse to move to life's back seat!
ReplyDeleteYou betcha! (Besides, most back seats are so darned small these days...) :)
DeleteI really want to see you in a hula skirt and out the wazoo bra doing a hula dance! What can I say, but I like spunky older women!
ReplyDeleteHA! I'm afraid this spunky old broad doesn't have that hula skirt any more. :)
DeleteWell, I think we should still celebrate National Freedom Day (which, incidentally, I've never previously heard of).
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely too damn cold to even think about doing the hula - - but lighting a few dozen tiki torches seems like a good way to warm up.
I enjoyed hearing about your one and only trick or treat excursion on Halloween. Now that I'm an adult (or a reasonable facsimile) I have a Grinch-like tendency to turn out all the lights and eat the Halloween candy myself.
The picture of the cat (Mission: Get Out of Bed) made me laugh because that's exactly what I look like in the morning - only the cat looks better.
Baby steps come in handy - - at any age.
Psssssst!
G.I. Joe never dated Barbie because it's rumored that he was gay. From what I heard, he had his eye on Ken....
Okay, so I must confess. Before I did some research, I never heard of National Freedom Day, either. Too bad. Seems like something we should all know about and celebrate.
DeleteFrom your description of where you're living now, I don't think you have to worry about any trick-or-treaters finding their way to your door. So live on the edge... leave the light on and enjoy your candy. :)
P.S. You crack me up!
I got up and and I got out...then I came back in cause it was -22 this morning. Love the video.
ReplyDeleteBRRRRR! I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to even stick my nose outside of the door in those kinds of temperatures.
DeleteMe, too. :)
Somehow, Halloween lost something in translation when it crossed the pond. In Britain (my neighborhood, anyway) it became at least a fortnight of sullen thugs roaming from house to house demanding money with menaces. Only when we came to Canada did we see the family-friendly fun aspect, for candy, not cash, and just for one evening. When the kids were younger, they loved it.
ReplyDeleteYIPES! If Halloween meant a bunch of thugs demanding money and intimidating people, I'd close my blinds and turn off the lights, too.
DeleteHooray for spunky old broads! I'm not spunky, but I've got the old broad stuff down. I don't think a hula costume in October is a good idea either, way too cold. You could have been an Eskimo instead, with fur lined everything and more pockets for candy.
ReplyDeleteOf course you're spunky! All ya have to do is embrace it.
DeleteHA! I dunno about the Eskimo garb. It isn't THAT cold in Maryland that time of year. :)
I loved that Older Ladies song and what a wonderful video! I wouldn't swap my own older lady for the world!
ReplyDeleteCLICK HERE for Bazza’s awkwardly amatory Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
Isn't that video super? Makes me feel like yodeling, "Older ladieees."
DeleteI bet your lady wants to hang onto you, too. :)
Wow, there were a lot of things to celebrate on February 1st. And hurray for spunky old broads!
ReplyDeleteI agree. (Chubby) hip, (chubby) hip, hooray for spunky old broads everywhere!
DeleteI agree with you that Alaskan "cake, ice cream and browned meringue combination" sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day
Doesn't it sound great? I didn't try it on the first, but I WILL try it... one of these days.
DeleteYou have a super day, too.
Love the "Older Ladies" song!
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, I've never had Baked Alaska, either. I think it should go on my list!
I love that song, too. :)
DeleteWow! I'm surprised. I figured you would've had Baked Alaska. (It reeeeally sounds decadent, doesn't it...?)
Loved the spunky old broads tune!!!
ReplyDeleteI've never had baked Alaska either but now that I know what it is I may try it next time I see it in the dessert menu :)
Me, too!!!
DeleteI'm not sure if I've ever seen Baked Alaska on a menu before. (But I WILL look for it from now on!)
My parents were so laid back, I often worried that they were weird. I had friends who would worry about their parents getting mad over this or that, but mine didn't get excited about much. One time, I drove on snow covered roads to go sledding riding out of town. They flipped out. I came home one night too drunk to take my shoes off and they "punished" me with bacon, eggs, and sausage breakfast the next morning. Then they made me mow the lawn in the hot sun, pretending the whole time that they had caught on the night before. I wasn't about to admit I didn't want to eat or mow because I was hung over. I just powered through the day in misery.
ReplyDeleteHA! I have a feeling that breakfast and mowing the lawn in the hot sun made more of an impression on you than any lecture would have. :) Smart parents!
DeleteSo much to celebrate today! I think I'll go decorate with candy. That sounds like fun. And then I'll do the hula.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least it's warm enough to do the hula here now. :)
DeleteI remember many a Halloween in Ohio when we went Trick-or-treating wearing heavy winter coats covering up whatever costume we had decided upon that year. We went anyway in spite of the cold. Good times! Ha! Fun post about the day. Always a reason to celebrate!
ReplyDeleteYep, any day we're above ground is a day worth celebrating. :)
DeleteHappy oldie days to us :)
ReplyDeleteYep! Every day's a happy oldie day around our house. :)
DeleteFebruary is in the dead of winter.
ReplyDeleteFebruary is the shortest month.
Therefore, February is one of my favorites.
It's one of my favorite twelve, too. :)
Delete