August 39er's Dog Days

Are you suffering … 

… through “the dog days of summer”? No doubt August gets a bad rap. But dawg, it’s party time! At least according to more than a few cities around the country that celebrate their dogs and party too.

With or without a dog, you August folks are natural partiers. When this month was renamed* in 8 BC for Augustus, who founded the Roman Empire, celebrations honored his amazing triumphs. Let there be wine! 

He must have been a Leo ... 

July 39ers are Real Gems

Do you know a July 39er who’s a real “gem”? 

Of course, all 39ers are gems!

We often have fun here with birthstone/gemstone information and gift suggestions … this month I became obsessed … 

Got to thinking about gemstones and how they play an intriguing part in our lives. A popular gift item, over millennia, gems have touched us in many fascinating ways.

Not only do gemstones symbolize our birth month, but identify us even by different centuries, eras, and cultures. Dedicated to the gems in our lives …

 
July’s gemstone via the American Gem Society is established as the royal Ruby, but … “In 1912, in an effort to standardize birthstones, the (American) National Association of Jewelers met in Kansas and officially adopted a list.” (Wiki) 

And even before a list was made “official,” Tiffany & Co. published poems of an “unknown author" in an 1870 pamphlet, lionizing our birthstones. Their July verse: The glowing ruby shall adorn, | Those who in July are born; | Then they'll be exempt and free | From love's doubts and anxiety. But doesn't the day you were born deserve something sparkly?  

Roses, Pearls and the Summer Solstice – June Magic!

All riiiiiight June 39ers! We get a day this month just for us! Well, for those 50 plus. June 21^st is Baby Boomer’s Recognition Day!

It falls on Father’s Day this year, so we’re splitting the fun. Of course, if you’re a dad and a June Boomer – party on! The rest of you can sip an after-daddy evening cocktail with your best Boomer buds. And if you're in that in-between stage, 39er-not-Boomer – well, it's all good.

For added glow, Baby Boomer Recognition Day coincides every year with the Summer Solstice. More reason to party!

Start with a bouquet of roses for the table centerpiece … perhaps one for each “bud.” Ar-ar. Yep, the quintessential rose is June’s official flower.

Add Mardi Gras strands of faux pearls, the June adornment preferred by the Roman Empire. Cool trivia: the iridescent bauble even had its own “pearl age” during the 1500s in Tudor England.

So, you’re comfortably seated at a tall table in your fave pub, with three of your closest Boomer buds, libations rising to toast, pearls sparkling, and the scent of roses wafting in the air – when …

… Shazam! In walk fellow June 39ers, Morgan Freeman and Meryl Streep!

Oh My, Oh May - Mothers and Towel Day!

If it’s your birth month, you’re a mom, love flowers, or enjoyed The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, this is your month!

At 39AHC you know we always find a reason to party – first and foremost, someone turns 39 and Holding every seven seconds of every day!

But that’s just to start. If you’re looking for more reasons to party in May, celebrate:

Older Americans Month: of course that isn’t you, ‘cause you’re only 39 and Holding!

15^th: Straw Hat Day – you don’t have to be a boater to wear one

25^th: Towel Day – “about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have”

26^th: World Lindy Hop Day – well, it’s spelled differently, but my dance instructor mom still named me after the dance!

So grab your coolest hepcat, slap on your fave straw hat, wrap up in a towel, and let’s dance into May …

May is the dominant Spring month, when flora blooms and fauna awaken to a morning haze, which is appropriate, as May’s name origin is a bit fuzzy too. Why ... ?

April Rain Dance to "Louie Louie"!

Happy UN-Birthday April 39ers (and friends)!

What’s on your birthday plate for the month of April? May we suggest a classic lunch to celebrate National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month? Yum!

In many parts of the country we’re wondering if April will warm up enough to welcome spring. If you’re still shoveling snow, try to honor National Humor Month with silly memories while you work.

Tapping into fun, special observance days, we’re looking forward to a frothy National Beer Day (April 7^th), that will lead into the ultimate party song, International “Louie Louie” Day (April 11^th), which will get you up on your feet for International Dance Day (April 29^th)! 

Let’s PAR-TY! After all, you’re still only 39 and Holding … Don't be a fool, dance your way through the month!

Carpe Diem! Make Every Day Count

Although yesterday’s fun and frolic of As Young As You Feel Day is past, its message via Horace’s carpe diem, to seize the day, should be a 39er’s daily mantra.

Life is tough – no doubt about it. As a child, if I dared whine, “But … But … it isn’t fair!” My mother’s favorite response was, “Nobody ever said life is fair.”

While true, as humans with unknown life spans, it is our self-responsibility to make the most of every day, at every age. So … let’s get on with it!

At 39AHC, we want to explore and enjoy every day.

Squirrel outside my window ...

With that in mind, look around you. What do you see? As your eyes scan above, around, and down, what is the ONE thing that grabs your attention over all else?

Enjoy your thoughts … enjoy your day!

Today - As Young as You Feel Day!

Yes, today really is “As Young As You Feel Day” at the 39 and Holding Club and around the world!

Let’s join the festivities – c’mon along …

Although you can revel in hundreds of quirky, cute, and meaningful special days on Brownielocks, my favorite holiday and commemorative list site, this one is especially noteworthy for us 39ers.

As Young As You Feel Day personifies our approach to aging. When it comes down to life’s bottom line, it’s all about ATT-I-TUDE! Thinking in terms of dog years might help. Heehee

“Carpe Diem” — seize the day (dictionary: make the most of present opportunities) – is an oft-repeated and revered phrase from that ol’ Roman dude, Horace, who included it in his third book of The Odes (approx. 23BC).

Wikipedia has a wonderful translation of his original Latin prose about the social life of Rome in the age of Augustus:

dum loquimur, fugerit invida aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

English: While we speak, envious time will have {already} fled: seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the next day.

So let’s do that! Stop whatever you’re doing and enter the 39AHC contest for a copy of the 1951 movie, “As Young As You Feel” – one of Marilyn Monroe’s first parts (Harriet), as a busty blonde secretary. (No they were not called Administrative Assistants way back when.)

Hurry! Contest ends tonight …