Today, we celebrate the women in our lives. Let’s not pretend that Valentine’s Day represents anything else.
That’s not a complaint partially because I don’t have elaborate plans for my wife tonight. We saved all our Valentine’s activities for the weekend.
I also don’t worry about focusing on my sweetheart at this time because I have created my own holiday which takes care of my needs – the day after the Super Bowl.
The idea of declaring that Monday as a national holiday did not begin with me, but I have decided to take matters into my own hands the past few years and scheduled the day off so I can fully enjoy the NFL’s title game.
Anyone can enjoy Man Day, as I have tentatively named the holiday, but it really does turn the focus to what guys who enjoy the Super Bowl need.
I don’t mean loud-mouthed, trash-talking guys who get so wound up in the Super Bowl that you worry each play might set them off into a rage. I’m talking about guys who eat too much, maybe drink too much and really just want to spend the day after the big game lying around doing nothing.
When I came into work on Tuesday, a co-worker asked me if I had a nice day and remarked about the nice weather on Monday. I just laughed because, except for a couple of quick errands, I didn’t even consider the weather in how my day went.
I slept in, cooked up a nice late breakfast and caught up on some episodes of Hawaii Five-O (for the requisite gun fights, chases and things blowing up). After wings for lunch, I finally watched the final episode of the first season of Friday Night Lights, yelling at the TV more than I did during the real football game the night before.
That’s a show I should have been watching while it aired on NBC, but I never got sucked in. I started watching it online recently and got hooked. Once I approached the season finale, I knew I couldn’t watch it at my desk while I ate lunch during the work week. This episode needed my full attention and Man Day provided that opportunity.
I guess the only thing which did not fit into my Man Day plan was a nap. Believe it or not, I really didn’t mind that too much. I got to sleep in and had a pretty busy day, meaning I had no trouble falling asleep at a normal time in the evening.
This made sure I would wake up refreshed and ready to go on Tuesday morning. If I had forced a nap, I might have made things worse. Why make myself feel just as bad on Tuesday as I would have if I had woken up Monday morning and headed into work?
Maybe I should re-think the name Man Day if I end up simply focusing on self-preservation. I have a whole year to re-think that idea. Right now, I need to ask for the day off after next year’s Super Bowl. The planning can’t start too early.