Before the calendar turned to 2020, I stumbled upon a meme pointing out all the holidays falling on weekends over the course of the upcoming year. Valentine’s Day, New Year’s and Christmas would land on Fridays, and Fourth of July and Halloween on Saturdays.
For its part, Cinco De Mayo was conveniently scheduled for Taco Tuesday. “This year is going to be lit!” I told myself.
That was in January.
Then the year unfolded and turned out to be one of the worst in my lifetime. Along with a pandemic, 2020 featured a divisive election, rescheduled sports, canceled schools, fewer vacations, slow mail, limited inventory, expensive prices, crowded parks and mandated masks. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few other horrible things. But the year was decidedly not lit.
Guess what? We get another crack at a favorable calendar in 2021. And I’m already planning accordingly.
It will still be a few months until the vaccine is rolled out to the general public. So who cares about Valentine’s Day, which everyone hates anyway? St. Patrick’s Day in March might still be a little more muted than usual. But when Cinco de Mayo rolls around in May, I’m officially changing Taco Tuesday to Taco Wednesday.
And then the real party begins.
Memorial Day always means a Monday off and a three-day weekend. But Fourth of July? It falls on a Sunday next year, which means we get Monday off, which means another three-day weekend!
Halloween also falls on a Sunday, which is a little weird, but it’s still technically the weekend. Christmas and New Year’s Day are both on Saturdays, meaning back-to-back three-day weekends to close out the year.
Combining all the federally recognized holidays, the average worker is looking at seven long weekends in 2021. And most of those are expected to happen after the COVID rules are lifted and we have access to shots if we want them, which I do.
With all this to look forward to, I figured now would be a good time to make my New Year’s resolutions:
1) I’m going to train and compete in some sort of race that isn’t a virtual race. Instead, I will be at the starting line, shoulder to shoulder with strangers, breathing heavy in anticipation without a mask on.
2) I’m going to drink by myself less.
3) I’m going to reconnect with all those friends and family members I’ve lost touch with because the virus closed schools and daycares and limited restaurants and other social activities and made all our lives too hectic to make plans like normal people living during normal times.
4) I’m going to learn about and start smoking cigars, because every day not in a pandemic is one worth celebrating.
5) I’m going to travel more than I ever have before. Whether it’s a vacation, staycation, or pitching a tent in my backyard, I’m out. I’m dropping half my streaming services and spending as little time at home as possible. We’re sick of each other.
That felt good. And now I mean it: “2021 is, for sure this time, going to be lit!”