The Best Holiday Ever

Some people love Christmas.  Others prefer Thanksgiving.  Still others can’t get enough of the 4^th of July with its parades, cookouts and fireworks.  But for my money, the very best holiday is Goose Goofs Off Day.  What’s that you say?  You’ve never heard of it?  Well, it hasn’t been around as long as the others.  In fact, I only started it eight years ago - back in 2005.  Yes, that’s right.  I take full credit.  Send the royalties to me when Goose Goof Off Day Cards start being sold in card and gift shops across the country.  Of course, the idea of sending cards to celebrate it runs counter to the whole idea of the holiday.

Read by Captain Kangaroo

So what’s it all about?  My idea of Goose Goofs Off Day is based on the children’s book, Goose Goofs Off, by Jacquelyn Reinach and Richard Hefter.  In the story, all of her neighbors are working hard at various tasks such as painting, gardening, home repair, and hanging laundry.  Goose, on the other hand, was sleeping in.  “I’m taking it easy today.  I’ll do it tomorrow,” was Goose’s response to anyone’s invitation to do some chore or other task. 

So that is what Goose Goofs Off Day is all about.  Any responsibility that can be put off till tomorrow must be put off for another day.  It is a holiday for doing what you want to do – not what you have to do.  Too often on our days off, we start the day with plenty of plans for what we’d like to do.  We tell ourselves, "I’ll sit down with that book I want to read as soon as I finish folding the laundry."  And then we notice that the grass needs to be mowed and the dishwasher needs to be emptied, and that we’re out of bread and milk.  The next thing you know, it’s 4:00 in the afternoon and you start thinking about preparing dinner.  And that book sits on the table unopened, or your bicycle stands unused in the garage and you realize that your day off has been stolen away by chores and tasks that could have waited.

Goose Goofs Off Day requires a different attitude.  On this holiday you have to be able to look at dishes piled in the sink or leaves on the lawn and say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.  I’m taking it easy today.”  Personally, I think it’s best to leave your house for the day.  I like to go on “an explore” – to see something I've never seen before or visit a place I haven’t visited for a long time.  I like to hike in the woods, so on many of my Goose Goofs Off Days, I have explored the hiking trails in some of the parks around Pittsburgh. 

Only the Shadow Knows! 

Yesterday, I visited Settler’s Cabin Park and hiked the 2-mile Blue Trail.  The weather was sunny and bright, though a little windy.  It was perfect hiking weather as I walked through the woods tramping on fallen leaves under a beautiful blue autumn sky.  I took a short detour onto a leg of the Green Trail that brought me to a small waterfall.  After my hike, I drove around the park and stopped at a picnic pavilion to write in my journal and read.  I’m reading Night Film by Marisha Pessl and made some good progress yesterday.  In the morning before my hike, I visited Dunkin’ Donuts, and I stopped at Starbucks later in the afternoon to do some more reading and writing.  I will admit that I emptied the dishwasher in the morning, but I was able to resist the temptation to do any other chores during the day.  Dinner was at Long John Silver’s, so there were no dishes to clean up.

Waterfall at Settler's Cabin Park

So when is this Best Holiday Ever?  November 18^th?  The third Monday in November?  Actually, it is a personal holiday, so it can be any day you want.  So plan to celebrate your version of Goose Goofs Off day.  Find a day on your calendar when nothing else has been scheduled and pencil it in.  Better yet, write it in with a Sharpie.  And if you agree that it’s the Best Holiday Ever, let’s spread the word and start a movement!