On Occasion

I spent my childhood celebrating occasions--birthdays, anniversaries, bar mitzvahs, graduations. This tradition carried into my time at ABC--in my first weeks there, we ate cake in honor of someone at least once a week. It's fun to recognize a person's occasion and enjoy a sweet treat in the process. 

As I have made my way through life, occasions have certainly not gone away. I still organize kid birthdays and celebrations commemorating other events. But what I have discovered along the way is that our regular days can be just as festive--and important--as our occasions. Once upon a time, I planned way ahead for s special meal out on a special day. These days, some of our best outings are spur of the moment, with no planning at all. Once upon a time, I stressed myself out making sure cards and gifts and arrangements were all set for the "big day," whatever that "big day" was. These days, I see that sometimes life gets between us and the "big day." And a lot of the time, a celebration deferred, rather than shoe-horned in where there's no room, is the best celebration of all.

I have not lost the value of commemorating the events that are important in our lives. I have simply recognized that the commemoration can sometimes be separate from the occasion, and that the occasion is sometimes less important than the feelings that go along with it.

So now, I celebrate feelings, not just occasions. And I try to remember to find new occasions in the everyday. Because you never really know when an ordinary day will become am occasion.