In Case I Forget January 3, July 24, September 4

Near Mother's or Father's Day this year, a NY Times op-ed piece mused over the fact that there is no siblings day. Given the muted response received last year when I proposed this date as "National Book Day", here's an alternative proposal for holiday-free August: "National Siblings Month".

This is not a call for marketing folks at card companies to jam another superfluous, guilt-inducing non-event down our throats. But for those of us who mostly enjoy our siblings, I think this has real potential. Remembering birthdays and/or anniversaries is not real hard but what happens when those sibling markers pass unrecognized? Guilt, apologies, etc. But even the most addled of us can remember a whole month, right? And except for the Kennedys, nobody has more than 30 siblings so most of us could easily manage some simple communication to acknowledge each of ours over a whole month. Spread it out week by week, get it all done with one e-mail, whatever.

Any regular reader of this blog knows how I value my brother and two sisters. It's possible that's why that NY Times piece landed with me and I sincerely hope this proposal resonates with someone. If so, please let me know, online or off.