Just two very quick notes before a very brief message…

– Happy birthday to all those shafted people who would be celebrating their birthdays tomorrow if it was a leap year. To be born on February 29 is kind of a cruel joke but I guess these folks have the benefit of learning very early that sometimes life brings disappointment.

– I couldn’t let today pass without recognizing that it is National Pancake Day. I have loved pancakes my whole life and this manifests itself in the fact that we make them for dinner a lot in our household. Some people might be turned off when I say that I prefer my hot cakes half cooked with the batter oozing out but you like what you like, right? Most of you probably aren’t surprised that I wrote a blog post solely about pancakes in 2015.

After looking at this photo, does anyone question my love of pancakes anymore?!

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With that housekeeping out of the way, I want to make note that today is the end of a precarious two-month stretch. I always say that January and February aren’t particularly my favorite months. The holiday hangover, short/dark days, and pressure to live up to resolutions can throw me for a loop. If it weren’t for the birthdays of Sidney (Jan. 28) and Beau (Feb. 5), I think I would be obsessively counting down the days until March.

But advancing age will teach you never to count away any of your days.

My family will “march” into the new month tomorrow. This is welcome because last year we kind of limped. COVID had impacted us, we lost a loved one, and Sidney battled other health issues. To advance into March with momentum instead of licking our wounds is a great feeling!

For everyone out there who opened 2023 on a less-than-stellar note, stick in there—things are looking up! Longer days and springtime are just around the corner. For what’s it worth, after our slow start in 2022, we went on to have a fabulous rest of the year. You got this! Don’t Blink.

I love a routine. I make no qualms that I feel comfortable with a set-way of doing things. However, I am not enslaved to routine. If a situation calls for me to be flexible, I will.

However, I feel something related to routine has a firmer grasp on me. I don’t even know if this concept/condition has an official term so let me coin it for my Don’t Blink audience with my own word—streakism.

Streakism is routine’s cousin and I feel like it has become much more prominent in society over the past several years. I define streakism as the compulsive need to complete a task on a daily, weekly, or other timed interval basis. There isn’t a prescribed way—or routine—to do it, you just got to get it done somehow within the certain allotted time period.

But definitions are one thing, examples are another. Let me give you a couple. This morning I completed my 2,047th straight day of looking at my Timehop app. For those who don’t know, Timehop pulls your camera roll and social media posts to give you a curated snapshot of what you did on a particular day in past years. To keep you checking, the app keeps a tally of your “streak.”

Another example is the 1 Second Everyday video challenge I am doing this year. You literally get a notification telling you to record a video at the end of the day if you have not uploaded one to the app yet. After two months I have really enjoyed doing this, but the low-key pressure is definitely there.

Keep in mind, streakism isn’t always expressed so blatantly. Whether it be listening to my Catechism in a Year podcast, making sure I get that blog post written, or getting my five workouts in for the week, these are all examples of streakism that gnaw at me until I get them done. Lent adds even more to my streakism mindset.

Just like with routine, I think streakism can be great. However, in the same way that being so routine-based can produce rigidity and stress, leading a streak-based life can produce similar feelings.

For me, I need to do better at not equating a “good day” to whether I checked all the boxes and extended all of my streaks. Shedding some pressure, especially when it comes to silly social media streaks, wouldn’t be a bad thing. Because when it all comes down to it, even Cal Ripken Jr.’s consecutive games played streak came to an end, right? Don’t Blink.

Happy Valentine’s Day! It has been an exciting day at our house. Sloan and Beau woke up to small Valentine treat bags and fresh cinnamon rolls. They then went off to their respective school/daycare for parties and fun.

The treat bags Sid prepared for Sloan and Beau.

I hope our children savored today, even though they both have probably no idea what that means. You see, they are at peak ages for genuinely enjoying Valentine’s Day. At least for Sloan, sadly, it will probably be only a few years until she is exposed to heavy doses of Valentine’s Day cynicism. Some time ago, it became cool to hate today’s holiday and view those who appreciate it with scorn. Although I understand the natural feelings of sadness and envy that today brings to many, I view the detestation campaigns that some launch as a little over-the-top.

Beau and Sloan all dressed for Valentine’s Day.

But enough negativity because today is a good day. Since Sloan has started attending Valentine’s class parties, I have been amazed at the creativity that kids (and their parents) possess when it comes to creating Valentine’s Day treats. The thoughtful Valentines continued this year and extended to Beau’s class as well.

Beau holding his Valentine treat bag after he returned from daycare.

Speaking of creative parents, scope out the Valentine receptacle that Sid made for Sloan. She constructed this thing last night and it worked like a charm for Sloan during her party.

Sloan holding the Valentine box that her mom helped her make.

Of course we couldn’t celebrate this holiday without recognizing who it is named for. At the breakfast table today, Sloan told me everything I could possibly want to know about St. Valentine. The patron saint of love, St. Valentine married Christian couples at a time when a war general prohibited it because he thought marriage made soldiers weak. He was imprisoned and after being mocked for his faith by the jailer and challenged to heal the jailer’s blind daughter, Valentine did just that. Despite the miracle, St. Valentine would later be martyred.

Sloan learned a lot about St. Valentine at school. She also colored a picture of him. St. Valentine, pray for us! (she won the wings playing Bingo at her class party).

Hope everyone had a good day with at least a little sugar. If you do know someone who could use a little encouragement on this day, you still have time to call or text them. St. Valentine, pray for us! Don’t Blink.