Here is another obscure holiday that you can have fun celebrating at home. Today, may 7th is National Grump Out Day for the United States of America. During this holiday, we are all supposed to stamp out grumpiness and eradicate it wherever we find it, whether it be in our selves or in others. No matter how sleep deprived you are, no matter how awful your boss is, you are simply not allowed to be grumpy (that is if you want to celebrate).
It is hard not to have fun with this holiday, although I don’t know if it will serve its intended purpose. After all, it is probably only the really happy people that will feel like celebrating. Grumpy people will just find the holiday to be one more thing to be grumpy about. Still, if you want to celebrate National Grump Out Day (and you don’t have to be in America to celebrate it), here are some of my ideas.
Stay home from work. Since much grumpiness comes from doing stuff you hate, take the day off. For parents at home who don’t have that option, well, I guess you are just out of luck. But don’t be grumpy about it.
Make happy faces on all of your food items. This is pretty easy to do with toast, although it is not as easy with chicken.
Grin whenever you open your mouth to speak. Say, “Honey, our child just flooded the bathroom when he flushed his truck down the toilet,” while smiling from ear to ear. Your spouse will either fix the problem or send you away for a nice long vacation. Either way, you win. Practice your grin several times in the mirror until you are sure that all of your teeth are showing.
Watch a joyful upbeat movie, such as Enchanted. After several viewings insisted on by a four-year old, watch it backwards and check for hidden messages. Or, go the other route and watch Snow White. When grumpy comes on, realize that you don’t want to spend your life scowling at everyone even though you have peanut butter in your hair and haven’t been able to go to the bathroom alone since your first child was born.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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