Yesterday was April 1st, April fool's day. Fancy that, a day just for fools, tom foolery, and foolish pranks. I didn't do any jokes or pranks, but I felt a kinship with the day. I have been foolish, done foolish things, and often wonder at my 'advanced' age when will I grow out of it? I have come to the conclusion that I don't think I am going to. Despite my best efforts I know that I am going to slip up, say something foolish or do something foolish eventually.
I remember as a kid doing pranks and getting a giggle from those pranks played on others, till they backfired and what was once just a silly prank ended up in a good scolding or a spanking. Today I don't have to worry about a spanking but my conscious does a good job on scolding me. I don't play pranks or jokes any more....well...hardly any.... but foolish mistakes, foolish choices, and foolish wishes still are a part of me. I thought that growing up and becoming an adult would change those things, but I think as we age we just get a new set of guidelines for being foolish.
I read a lot of blogs yesterday. Some serious, some not so serious. I try to take a path down the middle, to be serious sometimes, and full of mischief and silliness the next. Any newcomer to my blog might think it leans a little more to the foolish side and it probably does. That's just me...silly and foolish, but harmless for the most part. Surfing the web today I read on Dear Abby or Dear Annie or some other sibling or column of their's that today, April 2nd, they are continuing their tradition of "Reconciliation Day". I thought that quite appropriate, a day of mending fences after a day for foolish notions. I tried to think hard of who I need to make things right with,... and at the top of my head I couldn't think of anyone. Oh sure there are a few people I have lost my temper with, but we are still on speaking terms. There are a few regrets and some of the people that maybe I owe the most reconciliation with are no longer on this good earth. I was foolish not to see it then, but as I grow older I see it more clearly now, even with my specs.
Reconciliation Day... it's a good idea. Things that fester inside of us, words said, deeds done or undone they should be brought to the surface. Some fences can't be mended. Some friendships or family relationships can't be regained,... but your peace of mind can be. If you don't offer a hand with an olive branch the other person has nothing to grasp. A small effort can move mountains of emotions. Everyone deserves the opportunity to forgive or be forgiven. Not offering that chance or being open to it, is just plain foolish.
***The picture above is a an illustration by Norman Rockwell that appeared on the Saturday Evening Post for April 1943. In it there is suppose to be 45 errors, things that aren't right. Have fun trying to find them all.......and no, I don't have a list. If you claim you have found them all, I promise to be foolish enough to believe you....(smile)
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