Make Every Day the Big Day

February 13, 2012

    “So… are you ready for the Big Day?”
    Nothing could be more impossible to sort-out, without context. What – exactly – is the “Big Day?”
    If you’re Rick Santorum, it was last Tuesday, when his David v. Goliath(s) challenge landed a sling stone in the forehead of his opponent(s) in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.
    If you’re the New York Giants, it was eight days ago… when their 2011 season reached the zenith, in the final seconds of Super Bowl XLVI (note to educators: NFL football is – singlehandedly – keeping the study of Roman numerals alive in America).
    If you’re a commercial musician – a minstrel-for-hire – it was yesterday, at the Staples Center. The Grammys were their corporate – and, for the winners, personal – Big Day!
    If you’re one of the estimated 24 million unemployed/underemployed in America today, it would be the day they start a job they believe to be a “fit” (rather than an only-for-the-money concession).

    For the millions who check-the-box marked “Christian” when entering a hospital for an overnight, we’re between the Big Days – Christmas and Easter – but, if the exploratory procedure doesn’t go well, the chaplain representing their particular selection from the faith menu will be dispatched to patient and family, who are bringing a plant from the main-floor gift shop to show their support when they don’t know what in the world to say…
    If you’re in a romantic relationship, it’s tomorrow: Valentine’s Day looms on the immediate horizon. Will it be the “Big Day,” for you?
    If you’re one of the 82 million adult Americans who are currently classified as "other-than-married" (single/divorced/widowed), it probably isn’t your day. For the Americans outside the "single" demographic category, it will be a dramatic performance that includes various props – giant teddy bears, long-stem roses, chocolates in heart-shaped containers, jewelry that plays on the desperation of the affluent – to make claims of commitment that are hard to prove from the day-to-day relationship that falls back into routines by the end of the week.
    We’ve mastered the art of Big Days in the modern cultural experience. The more profound question gets less treatment: who are the people in your life who warrant Big Day treatment, every day?
    Short and sweet, let me issue the challenge: first, make sure you make the message loud-and-clear tomorrow. Your heart belongs to her/him; your commitment to your relationship (if you’re in one) is unrelenting. February 14 th is your chance to demonstrate the dedication and to declare the obvious.
    And, second: take inventory of the people in your vital core who are irreplaceable in your universe. Allow me to make a short list: the God of Heaven, Who is your life; your marriage partner, with whom you pledged lifelong devotion; your precious progeny, who will live out their natural lives portraying the effectiveness of your parenting… end of list.
    My challenge – to me, and to you – is to develop a believable checklist of actionable expressions of love and honor that express the way you really feel about the relationships without whom you would cease to experience the richness of life.
    Today – and, every day – I’m checking in with God, Cheri, Shannon and Erin – and their families – to let them know that I don’t exist in a vacuum; they are mission-critical for me to have the life I long to experience! Make Every Day the Big Day… for the biggest parts of your life!

Bob Shank