The Calendar of Life
June 26, 2003

Can you believe that it’s already the end of June and that one-half of this year has already past? As I look at the calendar and wonder where the time has gone, I realize that I can look at my life, which is also at the middle stage, and ask the same question. “Where has all the time gone?”

I don’t feel like I’m at mid-life, but I guess I am, albeit a young mid-life (if there is such a thing.) All I know is that more and more often, my thoughts turn philosophical about anything and everything. The slightest little thing can set my wheels in motion, (or should I say, “emotion.”) And so today, it was the calendar.

The calendar year itself mirrors the phases of our life. Obviously in January the New Year is depicted as a new baby arriving. Everything is new to us, experiencing it for the first time in the year-- or in our lives as a baby. In February the baby is now a toddler, but still naked and innocent, as portrayed by the little Cupids we see on Valentine’s Day.

In March we have St. Patrick’s Day, when everything is green. As a kid, it must seem like there is an infinite supply of green vegetables that Mom is always making us eat. As the end of March rolls in, so do the storm clouds. The “March” of our lives is also the teenage phase. The stormy friction between teenagers and parents can be trying, but without the rain that comes with it, we cannot grow. That rain is in the form of tears-- of the parents!

On April Fool’s Day we are still young and naïve. This is usually when we get married. Things don’t always turn out how they first appeared, but it can still be fun, and many times even better. (You thought I was going to get myself in trouble, didn’t you? I said “naïve”, not stupid!)

By May, spring is in full bloom and likewise, our families are in their prime, at maximum capacity. All the children are born, but none of them have left home yet. By the end of the month Mom and Dad are signaling for help, “May Day! May Day!”

In the month of June the kids have left school to begin summer break, while in the June of our lives our kids leave home to begin the rest of theirs. On the calendar, we celebrate the Fourth of July with fire works and all kinds of commotion. Life’s Fourth of July is similarly marked by hot flashes for women and the mid-life crisis for men.

It’s ironic that we take off from work on “Labor” Day, but it’s soon after the Labor Day of our lives that we think about retirement. Then fall sets in.

According to the calendar year, fall is both a time of harvest and the time when the trees lose their leaves. Akin to this, paradoxically life’s fall is both, a time to cut hair and a time when you lose hair—neither in places where you want it to happen! Men may finally be able to grow facial hair in those previously sparse areas; but then you also get it growing out of your ears and nose, and on your stomach and back, and… and places where you never imagined that hair would grow! And wouldn’t you know, just the place where you would like to keep your hair-- on your head—alas, the soil shows signs of drought.

Halloween is a time for scary faces. Children wear wigs, fake teeth and make-up in order to frighten people. But those who reach the Halloween of their life wear these same things to keep from frightening people.

In November, both on the calendar and in life, we give thanks for our families and enjoy being with them as much as possible. Similarly, at Christmas we focus on our children, who make the holiday more enjoyable as we view the world through their eyes. The Christmas of your life is no different, since by then you’ve pretty much seen and done it all. It’s refreshing to share in the lives of young children who are experiencing life’s wonders for the first time.

And whether it be on the calendar or in life, as December comes to a close we reminisce. It was a pretty good year, …life. There’s no going back and changing anything now. Besides, by December 31st, we’re ready for some rest. But we still wonder what will happen when we wake up.

© Copyright 2003 Glen Davis