It’s Veteran’s Day Dad.
Today is my dad’s birthday. When I was a kid, I would tell him every year that I thought it was unfair that his birthday was on a national holiday, and he never had to go to school on his birthday as a kid. I always imagined him having great birthday parties with all of his little Boy Scout friends: going cow-tipping at the neighbor’s farm, making little bark canoes, standing at the lakeshore throwing acorns into the water to see who could throw the farthest (this is what I imagine he did when he was little), relishing the fact that it was the middle of the week and they weren’t in school; like playing hooky – safely. It just seemed like too much fun.
So, last night I was helping my daughter with her homework. As part of her Scholastic News reading, there was an article about Veteran’s Day and it stated that Veteran’s Day was officially declared a national holiday in 1954.
Hmm. Scratch my head. 1954. Dad was born in 1940. So, his school years would have been from 1945 until 1958. So, his birthday was only on a national holiday for 4 of his school years. All those little Boy Scout birthday parties were just like anyone else’s – on a regular old weekday, except for 2 out of every 7 years. He never mentioned that. When I complained about the unjustness of his holiday birthday all those years, he never said, “Well, I only had my birthday on a holiday for four years…”
I guess he just liked the idea that it got me all riled up every year. That would be just like him.
I called his office this morning to wish him a happy birthday and learned that he’s got a boatload of meetings today – a very, very busy day. Too bad. He should be out enjoying his holiday birthday. Just like the rest of us.
Happy Birthday Dad!
Addendum: I asked my dad about this during our birthday call tonight. He explained that it was always a holiday during his childhood; it was Armistice Day and was just renamed in 1954 to Veteran’s Day. Shows you how much I know.
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