Confusion
All day Saturday I thought it was Sunday. Now, on Monday, it feels like Sunday. I wished my granddaughter a happy birthday on Friday, but it wasn’t her birthday until Saturday.
I write all the family dates in my diary at the beginning of the year, but somehow I put Kiri’s birthday on the wrong date. I got my mother-in-law’s birthday date wrong every year – that was in the years before I wrote all the dates down.
I’m not the only one to be confused. My eldest daughter, who is usually extremely well organised, can never remember my wedding anniversary, and is always a day late. That’s probably because we have never made a big thing of it. I can’t really blame her – it took many years for the date to etch itself into my husband’s memory.
It would be easier if he were a shooting man. The Glorious Twelfth, the beginning of the grouse shooting season, is a date that’s never forgotten.
I worked with an elderly gentleman, way past his retirement age, Jack Richardson, who always dated his official letters the glorious twelfth, your post reminded me of him, he was a perfect English gentleman. I am often heard asking what day is it along with what's today's date, which I believe is to do with retirement.
ReplyDeleteHaving grandchildren still at school gives an approximation of season and month . . .
DeleteIt's the same for me, every day everything is the same, but still different and I suddenly get it all mixed up.
ReplyDeleteIt happens to us all! 😊
DeleteDates of events are forgotten here as well. Then years, then ages, then everything not practically applicable to survival. Maybe that is why hunting season is etched into memories.
ReplyDeleteI write ages alongside birthdays and then am surprised afresh at how old everyone suddenly seems.
DeleteSome dates are always hazy. In my head anyway. Most of them I never forget, though because of time differences I'm sometimes late or early but there are 2 or 3 that I always get mixed up. Never mind remembering how old everyone is on their birthdays!!!
ReplyDeleteSo long as they're not completely forgotten . . . 😉
DeleteIt's easy to look track of days in retirement, and I have Google Calendar for the dates.
ReplyDeleteWe always laughingly remind ourselves of weekends and time to relax . . .
DeleteMy son exchanges a daily morning text with me, and often reminds me tactfully of the day in his greeting -- as in Good Monday Morning!
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent system - how tactful.
DeletefI didn't know the Grousies had a special day. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteRed grouse can only be shot in England, Scotland and Wales between August 12th (the Glorious Twelfth) and December 10th. In Ireland it's August 12th to November 30th - no idea why!
DeleteThree-day weekends are always confusing!
ReplyDeleteThey do rather screw up the rest of the week, but it's always nice to think you have a 'short' working week.
DeleteThere have been years when both my wife and I have forgotten our own wedding anniversary!
ReplyDeleteSuch an important date, too.
DeleteI agree that it is easy to lose track of what day it is once one is retired. Fortunately, the upper right corner of my computer screen always reminds me!
ReplyDeleteIt's the bottom right of mine, but easily overlooked.
DeleteI do get my days mixed up. But for some reason I have dates in my brain.
ReplyDeleteSome dates are stuck forever.
DeleteYou're not alone. For the past week I have been writing off the last of August, which of course wasn't ready to leave until today.
ReplyDeleteOnce an idea is fixed it's hard to override it.
DeleteOnce an idea is fixed it's hard to override it.
DeleteLOL You're not alone :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
It's not good for the brain to attempt to remember everything . . . 😉😂🤣
DeleteA charming reflection on how easily dates can become confused, with the Glorious Twelfth providing an amusing reminder that some dates are indeed impossible to forget.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteMe, too. I confuse days of the week all the time. In July, I wished a cousin happy birthday and was a week early. At least I wasn't a week late.
ReplyDeleteThe same thing happened to me, when someone asked how my birthday had been . . . and it hadn't!
DeleteThis was a really interesting and informative piece of writing. I liked how the information was presented in a clear and easy-to-follow way without making the topic feel complicated. There are several useful points here that readers can actually apply in real situations. Overall, a well-written and worthwhile read.
ReplyDeleteI confuse some days too.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know we're not alone!
DeleteAs a person who's still employed (for now at least, I'm a little pissed off at my employer) I need to know what day it is so I can show up. :)
ReplyDeleteThat does help to keep the days in some sort of order, it's true.
DeleteI cross off each day on y wall calendar when the 6pm news comes on TV, so I always know what day and date it is, but being retired all days feel much the same to me now and I am usually surprised at how quickly each week passes.
ReplyDeleteI write a daily journal - it's very unexciting but means that I usually know which day I'm on, although I still sometimes write the wrong date and only realise a couple of days later . . . 😕
DeleteFor real....those hunting dates are always remembered.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure.
DeleteNow that we're (semi) retired, it's hard to remember what day of the week it is never mind birthdays and anniversaries. Every day feels like a Sunday
ReplyDeleteThe days blend into each other . . .
DeleteIt gets harder to keep track of what day it is when you're retired. I used to count down the hours left until the weekend, but now it doesn't matter.
ReplyDeleteThe weekend is still the weekend, or so we tell ourselves . . .
DeleteThe rot set in for me when Sunday became another shop open day like all the others.
ReplyDeleteFor me Mrs Smith's on our little parade of local shops was the only place open to buy the odd block of summer ice cream. Neopolitan - three colours. Wafers extra.. She couldn't sell much of her other stock legally
Sunday was also the day for preparing for Monday - school or work. It rounded off the week.
70 years later I don't know the date let alone the day. Lesley
Sunday was special for that reason alone - most shops were closed. Before that it was Wednesday afternoon closing and for some, all day Monday.
DeleteBoth my husband and I forgot our anniversary this year!
ReplyDeleteTut, tut!
DeleteI remember important dates if I have been told them and they are not forgotten. The actual day of the week and date is often lost on me so the important dates I have remembered may not synchronise with reality though. If I have appointments my phone reminds me. Rachel
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to overlook, as in not notice, appointments made for me. I find them quite by chance sometimes.
DeleteHaha, I've been exactly the same this weekend. It's been a very long Sunday!
ReplyDeleteIt will be a short week!
DeleteThere are some dates that I have no problem remembering and others I never seem to
ReplyDeleteMost I remember, but each additional baby throws out the record.
DeleteIt's that confusing time of year when every day feels like the day before. or the next one.
ReplyDeleteI shall remember the next annual date - Christmas!
DeleteI have problems remembering dates too. If I don’t put it in the calendar, I don’t remember.
ReplyDeleteThe joys of a busy l life, eh? 😉
DeleteLike you, I transfer birthday and anniversary dates from one old diary to the next new one each year. Inevitably, I always manage to get one noted down wrong and am a day out. I now try to painstakingly double-check to avoid errors.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a job I enjoy. Clean, unmarked pages beg me not to despoil them, and inevitably I make mistakes. I've just ordered my 2027 diary.
DeleteWe all struggle with this and therefore I never worry if someone misses a date. Nevertheless, it's certainly a thoughtful act of emotional labour.
ReplyDelete