What else would you call the anniversary of your wedding once you have been divorced? If Alice in Wonderland can have an UnBirthday, I can have an UnWedding Anniversary. So today I did. I was married on December 14th, some year or other. It was a snowy day in a small Illinois town.

Today was another December 14th, not a flake of snow to be found in a large Canadian city. Being in a city has it’s perks on a day like today. I had a bus pass in my pocket, a map in my purse and the city at my feet - for as long as I cared to keep moving. I began by doing what I had done years ago: a long hot shower, some time to pamper myself and a little breakfast. I decided not to shave my legs or wear my wedding attire because this is my day and I’m not out to impress anyone.

There were so many things I thought about doing: a luxurious lunch out, a movie, a trip to the museum, even a bit of retail therapy, but I’m on a tight budget and didn’t want to be out too late and come home in the cold and dark. So I had a fancy coffee, bought chocolates and a lottery ticket. On the way home I gave a homeless woman a donation. I thought about buying myself things I don’t really need. But, I was happy having a day out and feeling kind of pampered and pretty. It was a good hair day and just enough wind to enjoy the sport of hair flipping. Maybe next year I’ll have more adventures.

I’m late again this year. This was going to be the year I started NaNoWriMo on time and actually finished my 50,000 words by the end of November. Instead I’m still in the final stages of moving jetlag. Not that I had a jet, that would have been nice, a whole moving crew too.

Here I am nearly a week after the start of November and I have not even begun. So much for my great plan to be part of it all this year. I don’t really like to put it off till next year, again. I did that last year after a slow, late start. Is anyone else joined up and trying?

A Breath of January

The last day of the first month. It sounds magickal. But, so far, I've never heard of anyone else having a special ritual for this day. I've always thought January was a special month. Not just cause it's the first month of the new year.

It's named for Janus, the Roman god of portals. Each year January is our portal to a fresh start. But, I feel it's not like most Pagan holidays. Usually there is some looking back, some sorting out - decluttering. Instead I think January is a month to only look ahead. Don't start planning your Spring cleaning. Don't look at old photographs, old journals or anything with dust of the past on it.

January is like a fresh breeze sweeping in to clear away the cobwebs. Think of it as a door opening to a room that has been shut up for a year. Imagine that first current of fresh air flooding into the old air and pushing it aside, enlivening the whole place all at once. That is what January feels like to me.

January is a portal, use it, pull yourself ahead into the new year. No looking back at what was, what might have been or what never will be. Today, on the last day of January the portal is wide open. The future is there, staring you in the face. Fortune favours the bold, reach out and grab it. What ever you want to bring into your life this coming year is there, in the path, just ahead of you. If you're bold, like January, you can get there. It might take you till the end of this year, but you can get there.

Every journey starts with one single, small step.

Happy January 31st.

One birthday a year isn't really enough. Birthdays are such a lot of fun they need to be multiplied and spread out over the whole year. That's why I think the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland had it exactly right.

There are three hundred and sixty four unbirthdays in a year. That's a lot of cake and ice cream you're missing out on. Of course, some days are school days and some days are party days for other kids or even Christmas and Halloween. So you can cut out some of the unbirthdays. Still, that leaves you with several possible unbirthdays.

I'm not sure what people do on unbirthdays. Maybe you have to walk backwards all day or wear your clothes inside out and backwards because its the opposite of what you usually do on a birthday. Maybe you make three wishes, write them on a piece of paper and hide them under your pillow until your real birthday comes along. Maybe you try something new like flying a kite, phoning your Grandparents by yourself or making the biggest sandcastle anyone has ever seen. Or maybe you just call your friends and have a lot of fun at the park.

So what will you do with your unbirthdays this year? What kind of adventure can you plan?

This was posted to a newsletter I wrote for BackWash Kids Sandcastles and Dreamcatchers - Exploring, discovering and creating for kids. Build sandcastles, catch dreams, smell all the roses in your world.