24 Days of Making, Doing, and Being: December 8
The space for joy.
Welcome to 24 Days of Making, Doing, and Being, a digital Advent calendar for slowing down and making space for presence, creativity, and gratitude. This is a seasonal offering for paid subscribers. Thank you for being here!
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If you’ve received this calendar in years past, you know that I am a fan of doing something special to mark Fridays.
I remember in the early days of Covid lockdown when people would lament how the days would bleed together: “What even is a weekend?” I felt equipped in that moment, as a good decade plus of working for myself had meant that I had clearly delineated the markers for what was and wasn’t a weekend.
For me, Friday is an essential part of that. Even when I have to teach or work on a Saturday, Friday always gets special treatment. A little excuse to celebrate, the opportunity to make a special libation, a more celebratory dinner, a little room to let go.
Growing up, in my house we would always play Big Band music on Friday evenings. Glenn Miller Orchestra and the like. In my family we just call it “Friday music.” You do not put this on at any other point in the week, unless of course, you need the mood boost (it’s a solidified cue in my brain and body).
What feels more quintessentially Friday than a good happy hour? We might associate that with cocktails and drinking, but I mean this in the earlier use of the term: emphasis on the happy part.
“Happy” comes from Middle English hap, derived from Old Norse happ, meaning “good luck.” In the 19th century, the term “happy hour” was associated with organized entertainment, but our modern use of the word is largely thanks to the Navy.