Happy April Fool’s. Since it’s late in the day, I promise not to make silly jokes, offer imaginary stories, or tell you there’s a spider in your hair when there really isn’t. Instead, I muse on my own feelings about the day.
I’ve never liked it.
In grade school, we were all for making little lies to impress other students and then yelling, “April Fool’s.” I never pulled it off very well. In high school, the mood passed. The same for college too. But after that, when I was a sixth grade teacher in my own right, I dreaded the day once again.
So, at the start of each school year (I was present for two of them), I always looked ahead on the calendar to see if April 1 fell on a Saturday or Sunday. It meant a big difference in the day’s lesson plan, because if the day fell on a school day I was bound to be tested by my students and probably wouldn’t get much accomplished.
Today I’m my own boss and haven’t really been aware of current April 1 traditions. No one in my close circle has mentioned them either. But I’m not so naпve as to think that April Fool’s Day has disappeared completely. Given one’s political leanings, it might just be moved to the first Tuesday in November.
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