Anniversaries

There are times I wish there was no such thing as a calendar.  Calendars track time and make it convenient to make plans, dates, deadlines and the like.  But they also create anniversaries.  And anniversaries are reminders of past events, some happy, some sad, all not to be ignored.

Today is June 6.  It is the 40th anniversary of the day I got the call that my mother had passed away before I made it to the plane to be at her beside.  Today is the 13th anniversary of the day a man named Jeffery Owens was the victim of a hate crime in downtown Riverside, an event that changed the course of my life, even though I did not know him personally.  On a global level, it is the anniversary of D-Day, the day in 1944 when the allied troops stormed the shores of Normandy in France, beginning the liberation of the Western Europe during WWII.  My uncle was one of the men in that attack and fortunately he came home.  

It's funny how some dates are so chock full of memories.  Like yesterday was the three month anniversary of when my friend and brother-in-law died.  And it was the birthday of two friends.  Tomorrow is the birthday anniversary of four people I know.  Clusters.  These things happen in clusters.  It's like there is a magnet that draws these things together.  And it's all because we keep a calendar.  

On second thought,  I am glad we have the calendar.  It keeps us on track.  It keeps us mindful of the passage of time.  It makes life a long diary of our events like chapters in a book.  We keep turning the page, yet we look back to make sure we "read that right" before moving on.

Let's hear it for the calendar.  Truly, I cannot imagine life without one.