"The Next Holiday is:"

I usually wear a watch that tells me the date. I don't need to do so - my work phone also tells me the date as does my personal cell phone. And most of the time I know the date. Despite this, every time I write a visit note, or sit down to write a group of notes, I look at my watch or the unit calendar for the date.

I do this even though virtually every nursing home unit I visit has some variation of the same sign, telling me the date:

Today is: Monday   May 16, 2011

The weather is: cold  rainy

The season is:  Spring

The next holiday is:  _________

It's "The next holiday is" part of the sign that amuses me. I don't know if it is dependent on the placards that come with the sign, the calendar that the staff look at, their knowledge of holidays, random chance, or just personal whims, but "the next holiday" is not always consistent.

Last month I was on one unit and "the next holiday" was Easter. I went upstairs and in another unit, in the same building, "the next holiday" was Passover. The next day I was in a different nursing home and "the next holiday" was Good Friday.

This week I have seen "the next holiday" as Armed Forces Day (May 21) and Memorial Day (May 30.) (I don't expect that I will see Shavuot, nor is any nursing home I visit counting the Omer. ) Right after Memorial Day, the signs will battle between Flag Day and Father's Day. They'll then stay consistent with The Fourth of July and then Labor Day, but come the Jewish Holy Days, Columbus Day, and various other fall holidays, "the next holiday" will again differ from place to place and unit to unit.

Perhaps this is why I need my watch. It doesn't focus on "the next holiday" but just on a number between 1 - 31. And most of the time the number it tells me really is that day's date.