Spirit Day

Riverpark Place, the retirement residence my mother calls home, had a spirit day last week - at least, they used to be called spirit days when my kids were in school: Pajama Day (when children could wear pajamas to school); Bring-Your-Teddy-Bear-to-School Day; of course, Halloween (when they wore costumes and received candy); and my personal favorite - Beach Day (usually in the middle of winter, when students brought beach towels and wore beach attire - pretending that they were at a warm resort, rather than at school on a snowy winter day!)

Riverpark Place called it YELLOW DAY: Residents were encouraged to wear yellow. (I suspect that the hope was to make a dreary mid-winter day bright indoors, if not out!)

From the first day the announcement was posted, my mother started hunting for something yellow to wear.

I've never heard of Yellow Day before, she told me. Have you?

No, I can't say that I have, I replied.

I don't have anything yellow in my closet.

Well, yellow is a hard color to wear, I said. Not everyone can wear it.

Not one to be deterred, she started to hunt for clothing that had even a speck of yellow in it.

I found a necklace with some yellow beads in it. And a blouse with yellow flowers. I did have yellow silk pants, but they were too cold to wear alone, so I wore them over a pair of warm winter slacks. By the time I was dressed, everything I was wearing had some yellow in it, she reported to me on the phone. I got so many compliments!

How like my mother - to take up a challenge like that - and run with it!

Did her enthusiasm put a smile on the faces of some of her neighbors? I suspect it did. It certainly cheered her week, as she plotted how to share in the fun - although she didn't think she had anything yellow to wear.

Perhaps I need a spirit day too... (Winter can be long...) What would brighten my day and my family's day? Perhaps a batch of muffins or chocolate chip cookies. The smell of baking always cheers us all up - any day of the year!