Happy Mid Year!
Or — Hey, I May Just be a Sitcom Character!
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It’s difficult to believe the year is already half over. In some ways, this year has gone both faster and yet slooooower than others. Slower as in, “Can we get this BEEPING year over with already?!” Ok, so it’s not a happy midyear, however, we do wish everyone a happy new year even when the previous year has been a disappointment.
So why say Happy midyear? Or, as I prefer it, Happy Mid Year?
You’ve probably heard of Festivus (thank you Frank Costanza, Seinfeld) celebrated, December 23, and you might have heard of Galentine’s Day (thank you Leslie Knope, Parks & Recreation) celebrated February 13, but chances are you haven’t heard of Mid Year’s EveTM or Mid Year’s DayTM. Yet. (BTW, Mid Year’s Eve and Mid Year’s Day, and the like, are trademarked.)
Mid Year’s Eve & Mid Year’s Day are two holidays I created in 2005, during my work coma — when I worked for Warner Home Entertainment as Director, Editorial / DVD & New Media — 6–7 days a week, 100+ hours a week, 52 weeks a year for almost 10 years.
Does creating a new holiday (albeit 15-years ago, so not so new anymore) make me a sitcom character like Frank and Leslie? (That’s a rhetorical question!)
I had a tough first half of the year in 2005. Realizing I didn’t want to wait another six months until New Year’s Day for a fresh start, I decided to end the midyear on a bang and start the midyear on a bigger one. I threw a party at work on July 1, expecting a handful of guests, when over 100 friends/colleagues (frolleagues???) attended!
Fortunately, I had enough food and (non-alcoholic) drinks on hand that I didn’t need to imitate Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (by miraculously creating a feast out of two fish and seven loaves of bread). Those who know me well know that I don’t do anything by halves!
Based on the number of guests, I wasn’t the only one who had a tough first half of the year. Happily, the second half of the year was much better for most of us. Your mileage may vary. Especially this year. But, why wait until New Year’s Eve to usher out the awful?! This year deserves a do-over more than any other in recent and not-so-recent memory.
