A to Z Challenge: Ziggy Calendar

On my 20th birthday in 1980, my roommates gifted me with a Ziggy 18  Month Poster Calendar:

I love this Calendar.   It is full of beautiful inspiring Ziggy Posters and features huge calendar pages with plenty of room to write in appointments and reminders. 

You can't see the caption too well in this photo, but on this page Ziggy questions  ". . . so far my life's been a lot of on-the-job training ... .when do i get a shot at the real thing?"

This sentiment certainly echoes the way I felt many times during my college career.    My roommates may have thought I needed a little bit of help in the getting-a-life area too, since every single page suggested an activity to keep me out of the day-to-day doldrums, as you can see in the photos below:

In addition to reminding me of important holidays such as Rosh Hashana,  Citizenship Day, and Yom Kippur, it would give me helpful hints to brighten up my days such as:  Crack an egg, Talk to your plant, Listen for your plant's answer, Hold the onion, Be a sport, Tell yourself a joke, Think about wind, or Stop look and listen.

The month of May gave me remindes that I had one quiz, two exams, and my sister's HS graduation, It also gave me such great advice as:  Listen for Burglers, Clean your glasses,  Think of something, and Ask Why", and reminded my of the important Ward Opening Social Dance that I went to and where I met my future DH.

I really do love the July page:  "We should enjoy here while we're here, 'cause there's no here there."  is the advice that Ziggy gives.  And DH and I did enjoy that July in 1981 when we were dating.  I did have three exams and two dental appointments, but there were also road trips, family reunions and parties, fireworks, the Manti Pageant, hikes, and dances.  

And we'll never forget that all important date in August 1981 when DH proposed to me for the first time:

No, this notation was not written in advance.  I really was quite shocked and surprised that night when he asked.   We sat down together several weeks later and wrote in many of our important dates and activities that had not been recorded anywhere else, so we wouldn't forget.  I had been too busy to keep a very good journal that summer, so I'm glad we took the time to do this.  It's the main reason that this Ziggy calendar is so special to me.  It's a record of a very special time in my life.

Of course, If you've been following my posts this month, you'll probably remember that I turned down this first proposal by my DH and decided to carry on with my previous plans to serve as a missionary for my church for 18 months in Colombia, South America.   I was scheduled to begin my training at the end of October, so that month's poster was very fitting also:

"It's Not Easy Being Mortal, Y' know!"

Long story short, life wasn't particularly easy for the next year and a half, but both DH and I survived the separation, we both grew and learned from our experiences, we reconnected in April 1983, married in August 1983, and have been together ever since.   My Ziggy Calendar is a treasured possession, as are all of the photo albums and journals that have been cluttering up the dining room table right behind my computer chair this past month as I have taken this trip down memory lane to chronicle the events of my courtship with my DH.

Do you have a record of the special times and events in your life?

"As I view it, in every family a record should be kept of the immediate family:  the father, the grandfather, the great-grandfather---at least of those of whom we have a memory.  That record should be the first stone, if you choose, in the family altar.  It should be a book known and used in the family circle; and when the child reaches maturity and gets out to make another household, one of the first things that the young couple should take along should be the records of their families, to be extended by them as life goes on.  It does no harm if there is duplication.  There is a strength, an inspiration, and a joy in having such a record near at hand, to be used frequently, the story of our ancestors, their names, the times in which they lived, and something about their lives and accomplishments.  Each one of us carries, individually, the responsibility of record keeping, and we should assume it."  --John A Widstoe  (Church News, Oct 31, 1942)

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