Busy Celebrating Wednesday

If you thought you were going to be busy Wednesday because it’s the middle of the work week and studies have proven that the 16th day is the busiest day of every month* (the asterisk I just put there means you need to skip forward to the very bottom of this story and read the little footnote I added. It’s ok, you can do that now and then come back), wait until you find out about the not 1, not 2, but 3 incredible holidays that need to be celebrated. And because I am writing about more 'bogus' holidays, this is where I say ‘Hi Kat, I’m sorry.’ So, clear your calendars, get out the streamers and Smore making kits because it’s time to celebrate International Moment of Laughter Day, International Stress Awareness Day AND National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day.

Where to begin? Well, let’s get the negative day out of the way. If I recall, it was recently National Stress Awareness at Work Week and now we have International Stress Awareness Day. That’s really not important but I just wanted to weave that into the story, you know, to make me look all smart and stuff like Alex Trebec or that Miss America contestant that was really, really good at geography. I don’t know about you, but I am keenly aware of my level of stress EVERY DAY. I really don’t need Wednesday to celebrate being aware of my stress. I can however tell you what I am thinking when I am aware of my stress. It usually is when I am looking at Female Coworker or my cubicle or my work email or when my office phone rings. By the way, does anyone else equate that little red voicemail light on their office phone with Darth Vader’s breathing like it’s a warning symbol of impending doom? Oh, ok, maybe it’s just me.

Why does my job stress me out? Well, I have thought long and hard (That’s What She Said – admit, you saw that one coming) about it and have finally figured it out. Though I am horrible at math and numbers and geometry and cooking pastries and tying my children’s shoes or trying to give them pony tails, there is one mathematical equation I have been able to solve: Work Cubicle does not equal Island Retreat. With that problem solved, we can now move on to the better reason for celebrating today.

Up next on the celebratory platter for hump day (now I can cross that phrase off my unused list) is International Moment of Laughter Day. That sounds like a fun one. My only concern is if a moment of laughter here in the U.S. translates internationally, since it is an international day of celebration and all and I would never, ever want to be accused of offending someone with a culture or background that I do not understand. And yes, that does include polka musicians, those high school boys that are wearing those skin-tight ladylike jeans and anyone who says they don’t ‘get’ the 2 Airplane movies).

I’m not sure what my international moment of laughter will be on Wednesday. I’d like it to happen naturally, but I do have a few go-to plans just in case nothing materializes. Take for instance my twins’ favorite knock-knock joke : ‘knock, knock, who’s there? Boo. Boo Who? Why are you crying?’ Don’t worry, I may have mentioned it first, but that’s my deep, deep pocket go-to. Prior to that, I have a few ‘that’s what she saids’ I can always pull out as well as my patented skipping wildly down the hallway, bobbing my head back and forth while singing KC And The Sunshine Band’s ‘My Boogie Shoes’ (from The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack) at work routine. Granted, when I do this one I know I am being laughed at instead of laughed with, but what the hay fever, I figure it’s all in the spirit of the holiday. You’re right; let’s hope that something just happens naturally to provide that moment of laughter. Why is that I have the Bee Gees’ ‘I Started A Joke’ playing in my mind right now? Better yet, in the 550+ posts I have written, why can’t I reference a song title from the 90s or 2000s (or would that be The Ks)?

Last up for today’s party time is National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day. I don’t know if we have been cleared to celebrate this one in my office yet or not. Since I have yet to see a memo saying NOT to wear our PJs, I’m going to go with the ole it’s easier to ask for forgiveness after the fact thing (like those rare but sweet occasions when I feed Lucy and Ethel key lime pie for breakfast – on a school day) and wear my PJs to work, thus guaranteeing that there WILL be a memo sent next year. Don’t worry, it won’t be the first time that a memo has been distributed to EVERYONE but is really only meant for me. Our HR department is so thoughtful sometimes. Hey, I just thought of something: when I show up with my Grinch Stole Christmas PJs, it just might provide that international moment of laughter thing.

So there you have it, a plate chock-full o’celebrations for the day. I am going to wrap this up so you can get off the computer, be aware of your stress, laugh for at least one moment and wear your PJs into the office. Now if only they made the PJs with the back-end trap door and rubberized footsie things for grown-ups…

* Though I have no statistical numerical stuff to back up my claim that the 16th is the busiest day of the month, I’m sticking to it. The number 16 was given to me in a dream by famed Cubs broadcaster Harry Carey and this was the only way I could find to work that number in.**

**Yep, now I have to admit that I’m making that up too.