The Month of BALANCE

I celebrate each month with a theme. It started in graduate school because of some dumb boy and then ended and then resumed two years ago and now can't be stopped because too many people know about it and depend upon it and ask about it. This past year, I've chosen all the month themes. The Ceramic Genius chose the theme one month, and it went terribly, which is how we discovered that choosing the months is my special calling in life.

These have been my favorite themes:

Train Safety Month - Emily adapted a song to the theme and if you caught her in the right mood, she would sing it.

Fire Safety Month - Get up in the morning. Stop. Drop. Roll. (We were very safety conscious in Indiana.)

The Month of True Confessions - Found out all kinds of FASCINATING things about people. It's remarkable what people will tell you, if you let them know that it's a necessary part of your monthly celebration for them to divulge their secrets. People are so obliging sometimes.

The Month of Living in the Moment - Actually, this one was really hard. My roommates and I lived in a house with a giant wipe board that year, though, and every night we listed the things from the day that had made us happy or that we appreciated from the day. Cheesy but nice. Also, the board fascinated and entertained guests, and we do try to accommodate the needs of guests.

This month it took forever (until today) for the theme to come to me. November is the month of BALANCE. Take that as you will. If you've been checking websites to recognize the symptoms of an aneurysm because you're not entirely convinced you're not going to end up in the hospital from one because you're feeling AWFULLY stressed this month even if your sister doesn't believe you, you should maybe take a day off and treat yourself to some relaxing spa services. If you are my friend and you recently found out that someone stupid you were dating just got engaged to someone he was dating when he was only supposed to be dating you, you should maybe balance out the bad news with some good news. Like, good news! I just bought myself a sheep dog! Or you could decide to eat more balanced meals. Or spend more time on part of your life that usually gets neglected. Or you could take up tightrope walking or other activities that require balance. (Does the trapeze require balance, Amy?) Or you could go visit my friend Chou's blog, which is titled Balance. Or you could ignore the month completely, which I sometimes do even though I'm the one who names them.