February 23rd is officially The Worst Day of the Year. I created this international holiday myself, many moons ago in honor of a singularly bad, no-good, horrible day.
It was second period, Geometry class with my older brother Steve and 30 of mostly upperclassmen listening to Mr. H. (can't believe I've forgotten his name, he was a nice guy) talk about angles and triangles. I was a freshman, promoted against my will to upper level math but I was actually getting it for the first time. I found that I loved thinking about tangents and where angles would cross. I amused myself during class with pulling lines from corners and making them cross in front of the teacher's desk.
But this day, I was not amused. I had a cold, a drippy nose and headache, and was trying to furtively shove balls of kleenex up my nose to stop those sudden drips of mucus from embarrassing me.
Then I realized that I had to get them out, as they were sodden and needed replacing. No way could I dig them out of my nose without anyone noticing.
That's when it hit me. This was the worst day of my life.
I didn't like what I was wearing, the dirty old snow of Michigan, the gray skies day after day. The lack of any holiday or fun on the calendar for weeks. The cold, the daily grind of teenagers who didn't like me, teachers who didn't care and three more years of high school hell.
So I created The Worst Day of the Year. And every year I celebrate it in my own way. Some years in reveling in self-pity, pampering myself with cocoa and a book to read.
I still celebrate it, but kind of in an upside-down way. I try to make it a GREAT day! So today, you're on notice, February 23rd. Do your worst -- rain, grey skies, chilly weather -- but I'm going to have fun. No matter what it takes.
Now I have my children help me think up fun things to do. It is a great break in the midst of the February doldrums.
So what are you going to do, have a great day or throw yourself wholeheartedly into have the official Worst Day of the Year? You can even proclaim your own WDOTY whenever you want it to be.
Just don't invite me to your pity party, I'm too busy having a great day!
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