"Enjoy your holiday."

I dropped by my bank this morning to put something in my safe deposit box.  As I was leaving the bank, the woman who opened my box said, "Enjoy your holiday."  The comment caught me off guard.

My first thought was, "What holiday is it?"  It's not Labor Day or Memorial Day. It's not Lincoln's Birthday or the 4th of July. "Then what holiday is it?", I wondered. And it set me to thinking. I didn't think very long before I realized that what most people say in her place is "I hope you enjoy your holidays." That makes more sense.

But then I thought, "I wonder if December 3rd is actually a holiday?"  A quick Google search yielded these results. Among other things, each year December 3rd commemorates at least these three holidays, The International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Giving Tuesday and the International Spirit of the Game Day. The first one "focuses on the empowerment of persons with disabilities." The second one encourages generosity, especially toward charities and needy people. The last one is "the mindful behavior practiced by players worldwide in a mutual effort to protect the basic joy of play".

Regarding "the holidays", the Thanksgiving and Christmas season has never felt to me like "holidays."  With one exception--as a student it was always a relief to get out "for the Christmas holidays." Not having to go to school and study at home for a couple of weeks was a respite that I always enjoyed. With that exception, "the holidays" have for me always required a lot of mental effort. During Thanksgiving and the days leading up to Christmas Eve were not "holidays." There's the wreath that I always put on the house. This requires climbing very high on an extension ladder, careful to not fall and hurt myself. I've never fallen. But I could. I never enjoy being on a ladder. The  "holidays" usually require a lot of travel. This year is no exception with three out of town trips on the docket. Travel then requires driving long distances sometimes with weather issues and traffic tie ups,  airports(TSA and boarding passes) and other necessary evils. Even when none of that is much of a problem, there's just the stress of the possibility of these things that "bugs me up" (as my brother says). None of this feels like any sort of "holiday" to me. Ho Ho Ho!

Regarding the "Spirit of the Game Day", if I'm honest I don't really "enjoy" a game I care about until my team is in a good position to win the game. I find watching very stressful up until that point. The problem with this perspective is that many games are not decided until the final minutes and seconds. My counselor tells me that my gut and my stress do not transfer through the TV and actually affect the players or the outcome of the game. The stress only affects me. Cognitively, that makes sense; emotionally that reality has never saved me from the angst of the game. During this year's Iron Bowl, Auburn, my favorite team, was not the clear winner until the quarterback took a knee with a little over a minute to play. Watching the replay the next day was far less stressful. I did enjoy that activity.

Back to the lady at the bank. Maybe she knew about the three holidays that occur each December 3rd. I doubt it, but maybe so. If not, I'm sure she sincerely hoped that I would enjoy all of the "holiday season." I wish I could relax and enjoy "the playing of the game" and watching "the holidays" unfold.  With a lot of good counsel and emotional effort, each year I am getting better.

Today, December 3rd 2019, is actually a holiday of sorts for me. Because of retirement, I have nothing on my schedule today but a doctor's visit and going to the gym. Neither of those things involve any stress or any great emotional or mental effort. And at the moment I'm writing, one of my favorite activities, while listening to beautiful music by Daniel Elder. Or is it the other way around--while I'm listening to beautiful music, I'm writing? Either way I find the experience both enjoyable and relaxing.

Among other things, Wednesday, December 4th is "International Cheetah Day." Am I supposed to run or just appreciate the prowess of this animal? Since I don't enjoy running, I think I'll just pause and enjoy the latter. Apparently, every day is a  holiday.