http://66.225.205.104/CM20100413.mp3
There are many specially-designated days and months. In April alone there's Autism Awareness Month and National Frog Month. April is also when we celebrate Find-A-Rainbow Day, National Eggs Benedict Day and Cuckoo Day (a reference to the bird, not our state of mind). Commentator Gus Succop has an idea for another special day. Throughout the calendar year, particular people are remembered on particular days. In addition to birthdays, there is Mother's Day and Father's Day. In recent years, we have added Grandparents' Day. With good fortune, some of us have been given not just a day but an entire month. October is Pastor Appreciation month. Needless to say, October is my favorite time of the year. The calendar is full of others dates when certain people are remembered: nurses and office staff, veterans and employers, and no less significant are days such as Earth Day, Independence Day and Patriots Day. This may surprise you, but I want to suggest one more day to circle on our calendars. The day I propose is "Thank You Day." I want to suggest that we gather up all the other days on our calendars - from Mother's Day to President's Day - and remember all of them on one day called, "Thank You Day." The older I get the more grateful I become. I am grateful to people, past and present, who have blessed me in ways I did not expect much less deserve, and to whom I want to say one more time, "Thanks; thanks very much." At the heart of signing, sealing and sending a Mother's Day card, aren't we really saying, "Thanks, Mom"? Isn't picking out a tie or wallet for Dad our way of saying, "Thanks, Pop"? The same is true for grandparents and office colleagues, war veterans and anyone who has put us on the receiving end of their service or sacrifice. To such people, I want to say "Thank You" for being whom you are to us, for having done what you have done for us, and for thinking of us when no one else might have thought of us. "Thank You Day" would be a way of recalling how dependent we are on each other, how interconnected our world has become, and that not much gets done unless we think beyond ourselves. The older I get the more grateful I become, which makes me realize how impractical it would be to set aside one day to say, "Thank You." What I need are 365 days to express thanks to those who have blessed me in ways unexpected and undeserved. The last thing I need is another day to circle on my calendar, and yet the one thing I will always need is one more opportunity to express how grateful I am; and believe me, I am grateful!