National Hugging Day, National Squirrel Appreciation Day, January 21st

National Hugging Day, National Squirrel Appreciation Day

Study: Hugs warm the heart, and may protect it, By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY
PHOENIX: Cuddling may be good medicine for the heart. A brief hug and 10 minutes of handholding with a romantic partner greatly reduce the harmful physical effects of stress, according to a study...Loving contact before a tough day at work "could carry over and protect you throughout the day," says psychologist Karen Grewen...

So, there it is folks. Go hug someone today, and tomorrow, and the day after...

Print this Picture and wrap it around your finger...And I gave you a hug today!!

And least I forget, it is National Squirrel Appreciation Day. (Leave it to The Powers That Be to appreciate something when it is hibernating.) I happen to love squirrels. My grandfather used to take me for walks around the family farm and during the early part of the walk we would look for Mister Red Squirrel, and at the middle part we would look for Mister Grey Squirrel. As we walked, my grandpa would tell me stories of the animals that lived in the forest. He told me that the squirrels told him all the news every day, because they are naturally chatty animals. I believed him, when I was younger, and when I got a little older, I still believed him. Because of these walks, I thought that my grandpa was magic. I was sure that the squirrels would really chatter with him, if only I wasn't there to see it. I would let him walk a little ways ahead of me, always hopeful that I would someday catch one of the animals running up to him to say hello.

That part of the farm is no longer wooded. I bet the squirrels are gone. I just realized that. My younger cousins and new niece will never know about Misters Red and Grey Squirrels. I hate having childhood magic disappear.

Apparently, some people don't like squirrels. The site scary squirrel world discusses "where skwerls come from," with various theories ranging from "The Preternatural Theory: supporters of this theory think that skwerls are alien life forms from outer space." to "skwerls come from pumpkins" complete with "compelling video." They also have a lot of squirrel movies. But, I would not recommend the ARE THERE SQUIRRELS IN HEAVEN? page or it's links, frankly, it's just weird non-funny stuff with hokey music.

I forget to mention that Thursday was Penguin Awareness Day. Apparently, there is no end to the celebrations for cutesy animals. I am not sure how to tie the two together, since squirrels and penguins only live in the same zip code in a zoo...But here is a try...