Memorial Day

CatholicCajun · Post by **CatholicCajun** » Fri May 23, 2008 4:34 pm

I was just wondering how many of you are going to take Monday as an S day?

I will do my best to make it an N day, but hubby is off and he is sort of on this plan with me, but he is not as strict.

fkwan · Post by **fkwan** » Fri May 23, 2008 4:42 pm

N day for me, I have to work.

Hate Memorial Day anyway -- my anathema The Drivers go absolutely bug screeching insane trying to kill each other on the freeway, plus there's zillions upon zillions of sale ads in the paper for mother-in-law to salivate over and the zillion radio and TV commercials are even louder and more obnoxious. Buy more cars, use up the oil faster so we can send more of our precious youth somewhere to die...oh, wait, it's Memorial Day, a HOLIDAY allegedly to remember this....

f

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Fri May 23, 2008 5:05 pm

It's the first Holiday since I started
so I think I'm going to take it as an S day

Sheiler · Post by **Sheiler** » Fri May 23, 2008 5:08 pm

fkwan,
How do you really feel about that?!

I agree that it has turned into something that the WWII generation wouldn't even recognize, but I also think that those who've served this country by putting their lives on the line deserve to be acknowledged with a special day. I remember going with my grandmother when I was six to lay flowers on the graves of those who had died. It's cemented in my memory.

Back on topic, I will be taking Monday as an S day because my daughter, son-in-law and grandbaby will be here Sunday evening and Monday morning. I will probably not take Saturday as much of an S day, since there's nothing special going on, and two days in a row is plenty.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Fri May 23, 2008 5:12 pm

I will be taking all 3 days as S days. Saturday will be my usual trip to the farmer's market and breakfast out. Sunday I'm not sure about -- yet. Monday -- the usual summer holiday meal. My "treat" is going to be -- are you ready for this? -- S'Mores. I've been craving them for about 6 weeks. Haven't had them for ages and I'm ready for a chocolatey, gooey treat!

Nichole · Post by **Nichole** » Fri May 23, 2008 5:37 pm

wosnes wrote:My "treat" is going to be -- are you ready for this? -- S'Mores. I've been craving them for about 6 weeks. Haven't had them for ages and I'm ready for a chocolatey, gooey treat!

Mmmmm. Well after work today I'm going to work to pick up some goodies for the holiday weekend. Justin and I are going up to the Poconos with my sister, bro-in-law and niece. She wanted chocolate Pop Tarts, so I'm getting her S'mores Pop Tarts. I love them too, so everybody wins!

I CANNOT wait to leave for the Poconos tomorrow night. My niece and I are super-close (she's 4) -- and I'm pretty sure I'm her favorite aunt. She gets so excited when she sees me; it's the best feeling ever!

flipturn · Post by **flipturn** » Fri May 23, 2008 6:27 pm

I completely forgot that Monday is another S day but probably will not use it as such. I hate most holidays because of the ads, sales, enforced frivolity, competition as to who can have the most relatives for dinner (Thanksgiving), the largest gifts and the best vacation. Shoot me up with sodium penethal and wake me up when it is over!

fkwan · Post by **fkwan** » Fri May 23, 2008 7:05 pm

flipturn wrote:I completely forgot that Monday is another S day but probably will not use it as such. I hate most holidays because of the ads, sales, enforced frivolity, competition as to who can have the most relatives for dinner (Thanksgiving), the largest gifts and the best vacation. Shoot me up with sodium penethal and wake me up when it is over!

Save me a shot, please.

Gifts?

Did I miss some NEW horror, Memorial Day GIFTS?

Oh, you meant in general. YESSS.

You forgot, who can eat/drink whom under the table and into the street.

f

Buffalo Gal · Post by **Buffalo Gal** » Fri May 23, 2008 7:33 pm

I am skipping the weekend and the holiday. Have had 6 red days in a row thanks to a headcold

This is a big gardening weekend so I'll be out weeding/planting/mowing. I think I could lose a medium size adult in my front lawn

Happy Memorial Day all!

Buffalo Gal

OrganicGal · Post by **OrganicGal** » Fri May 23, 2008 8:14 pm

Buffalo Gal...my understanding from the book is that S-ick days are S days too. S stands for/means exempt, so I don't think you should count them as red days. Reinhard says to do/eat however you have to, to get through sick days.

flipturn · Post by **flipturn** » Fri May 23, 2008 8:44 pm

Oh, f, I am laughing! But I will be serious, speaking of drinking, and tell everyone who is driving to be careful. It's a crazy world out there.

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Sat May 24, 2008 12:59 am

I also think that those who've served this country by putting their lives on the line deserve to be acknowledged with a special day

Sheiler, I agree!

And Monday will be an NWS day for me ... fortunately in our little family we celebrate holidays non commercially! Helps us to focus on their deeper meaning! I am ALL FOR HOLIDAYS!

Blueskighs

Post by **reinhard** » Sat May 24, 2008 1:34 am

S-day for me ("major national holiday").

Reinhard

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Sat May 24, 2008 3:12 am

It will be an S event day. Since it's a day to remember the ultimate sacrifice, wanton indulgence per f's description just seems... well, inappropriate. (ETA:I wouldn't categorize making Memorial Day an S day as wanton indulgence.)

I'll put out the flag this weekend and we'll have a nice dinner with strawberry shortcake for dessert on Monday. I might take a bike ride on Monday if the weather is nice.

FWIW, I'm not opposed to observing Memorial Day as the kickoff to summer. I like down time as much as the next person. But f's description leaves me part sad, part horrified. I'm kinda old fashioned (ok, really old fashioned) so I think it's important to keep in mind the original meaning of the holiday.

CrazyCatLady · Post by **CrazyCatLady** » Sat May 24, 2008 4:33 am

I consider Memorial Day a holiday, therefore an S day. We will celebrate by going to our town square in the morning for a ceremony honoring the Veterans. There are always plenty of Veterans there, from the old guys to the young 20 somethings. I like to shake their hands and say "Thank you for your service" or something similar as I see them throughout the morning.

Then there is a parade, and my 12 y/o and her middle school band will be marching in it. They throw candy, but its for the kids, not the adults! However, if my son hands me a piece of candy, I will eat it if I want to.

We will cook something on the grill later in the day, and have the watermelon that I purchased today. But mostly, Memorial Day is not a huge day of food indulgence for us.

flipturn · Post by **flipturn** » Sat May 24, 2008 2:39 pm

You guys are all right, of course, and I hope that f and I didn't offend anyone. I will also fly my American flag and think of all who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Thanks for including this in your posts.

Jessies Daughter · Post by **Jessies Daughter** » Sat May 24, 2008 6:42 pm

Our Memorial Day celebrations are tempered by the meaning of the holiday and we, my family and my friends, take the time to thank and recognize the brave men who gave their lives for our freedom.

It will be an S day for me. I will be with friends and loved ones on Menorial Day. It is our tradition to celebrate with a cookout that includes an all American barbecue fare:
Ribs and chicken, sausage dogs, potato salad, cole slaw, garden salad, roasted ears of corn, peach cobbler, ice cold watermelon, Blue Crabs, home made Peach ice cream (made from my Mother's old hand crank ice cream maker) and any "pot luck" family/friend specials that folks want to bring.

We start the feast with prayer and thanks in remberence of all who died in order that we we can live as we do today. We teach the younger ones the meaning of the day and why we are able to get together and celebrate. We end the day with a pledge not to take ANYTHING for granted.

I renew my personal pledge to walk up to every person I see in uniform and every person I see with a ball cap on that indicates they are a veteran and look them in the eye and shake their hand and say "Thank you."

fkwan · Post by **fkwan** » Sun May 25, 2008 12:03 am

Blithe Morning wrote: But f's description leaves me part sad, part horrified. I'm kinda old fashioned (ok, really old fashioned) so I think it's important to keep in mind the original meaning of the holiday.

Blithe,

Sorry if you misunderstood me. I think the original meaning has been obscured by all the shopping and summer mania I was referring to. I don't think there is enough emphasis on remembering folks like my late father-in-law who flew more than 50 missions over Germany.

f

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Sun May 25, 2008 2:04 am

fkwan wrote: Blithe,

Sorry if you misunderstood me. I think the original meaning has been obscured by all the shopping and summer mania I was referring to. I don't think there is enough emphasis on remembering folks like my late father-in-law who flew more than 50 missions over Germany.

f

Oh dear, f and flipturn, I apologize if I implied that I was offended by your posts. Not in the least! I wasn't saddened/horrified by the posts per se but rather responding to your very apt descriptions of what seems to be the default celebration mode: shop-eat-eat-shop-drink-eat-shop-drink-eat. I think what you described was spot on in the way so many people approach holidays - any holiday - as an excuse to mindlessly indulge and never mind the patriotic/sacred/commemorative meaning.

I don't think there's anything wrong with mentally downshifting to summertime pace on Memorial Day and marking that with a special meal or a barbecue or a picnic. Heck, go to the garden center and buy some plants for the garden or a new patio set which we did last summer. It turned out to be (and I'm not exaggerating here) the best purchase we made for family quality time in years. My teenaged sons actually sit and talk with us after they finish eating when we eat outside. I wish we would have done it years earlier.

But I digress.

For the record, nothing I have seen in the posts on this board have indicated to me that people are using Memorial Day as an excuse to overindulge or mindlessly consume. But then, I suspect that those who do such things don't hang out on a message board that is about developing habits which facilitate self control.

fkwan · Post by **fkwan** » Sun May 25, 2008 2:26 pm

Blithe Morning wrote:
For the record, nothing I have seen in the posts on this board have indicated to me that people are using Memorial Day as an excuse to overindulge or mindlessly consume. But then, I suspect that those who do such things don't hang out on a message board that is about developing habits which facilitate self control.

Blithe,

I wasn't in any way referring to anyone on this board, and again i have to apologize if anyone thought I was.

I probably should have put this on Off Topic, it was just one of my Crone/Homer Simpson's Dad Rants about Society.

It seems to me -- no, it definitely appears to me -- that in the particular society in which I currently find myself, those around me use every holiday as an excuse to do those very things, and it seems to be getting worse every year. YMMV.

hugs,

f

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Sun May 25, 2008 6:08 pm

f, you rock. I'm sitting there right next to you on the Crone couch.

of course, we will be the hottest crones because of No S.

Shirls · Post by **Shirls** » Sun May 25, 2008 6:30 pm

Oh lucky Americans to have an S day tomorrow

Our next national holiday is on 16 June: Youth Day. Though I hardly qualify for that

But I need to be careful of S days anyway. We have 12 public holidays and only one falls on a Saturday. Those that fall on a Sunday get an extra holiday on the Monday to compensate. Then we have four adult children with some husbands and wives and six grandchildren making a total of 21 birthdays including mine and my husband's. My husband is a freemason and a member of seven lodges, which make 7 installation dinners and 7 Ladies Nights a year. Add the normal S days and that comes to 151 S days plus three or four for sick days.

I think I'm going to stick to vanilla No S for the rest of the year and reconsider my options of all the special S days next year.

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Sun May 25, 2008 7:43 pm

Shirls,

that is what I am talking about. People like with you with SO MANY potential NWS days have a different time of it. I am out of state with my husband so ours are the only birthdays we celebrate, then our wedding anniversay and major holidays.

I checked the calender when we did the NWS thread that should keep me at one to two per month which seems to be the "basic" rule of thumb Reinhard has suggested.

The only thing I would say, and forgive me if I did not read your post properly, is I don't know if I would go a whole year without NWS days. I thought, and once again, please correct me if I am wrong, Reinhard suggests we take those 1 to 2 NWS days a month, if you look at his HabitCal you can see that he does that,

went back and found link to Reinhard's habit cal from NWS thread:
NWS thread:
http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3439

Reinhard's Habitcal:
http://everydaysystems.com/habitcal/vie ... &t=nosdiet

I had one in March, one in April, and will have two in May. For me they are turning out to be a good idea because they are actually a third variation... that seems to be EXTRA SPECIAL.

Blueskighs

CrazyCatLady · Post by **CrazyCatLady** » Sun May 25, 2008 8:45 pm

But Shirls, the beauty of No S is that you can celebrate all those family holidays and never look like one of "those" dieters who ruins everyone's fun by refusing all treats! Instead, they will all be S days for you.

That doesn't mean that you will always eat a slice of cake, but it means that if you choose, you could have a slice of cake. Or a small plate of veggies and dip even if it isn't a meal time. Or...or...or...just because they are S days doesn't mean that you will pig out before, during and after the get together. It just means that if Aunt June brings her kicking chili, that you can have a bowl if you want.

I think it defeats the beauty of No S to not take S days. However, if you find that you only eat your regular meals on those holidays, that should be fine, IMO (in my opinion). But when someone offers you a treat, instead of claiming you are on a diet, you will just say "maybe later", and not take any later! Or "that looks lovely, could I help serve?" And serve yourself a small (or no) piece. The possibilities are endless.

I love how sensible this eating plan is!