It's Nov. 1 -- my least favorite day of the whole Facebook year.
Well, my least favorite after Nov. 2. And Nov. 3. And Nov. 4, 5, 6, etc.
November is when the dreaded 30 Days of Gratitude posts begin.
It's when people dedicate a post per day to something that makes them feel sooooooo grateful in the supposed spirit of Thanksgiving (I'm sooooooo grateful for pie).
It should fill everyone with a sense of appreciation.
Instead it fills me with (and I'm sooooooo grateful to singer Mary J. Blige for this term) "hateration."
I am all for sincere, heartfelt gratitude. My issue is with boastful attitudes. So often, counting one's blessings publicly -- particularly in a contrived, formulaic way -- comes across as bragging. Of course, there are plenty of people who would far prefer that to my own sad social media vices, sharing food and fur-ball photos.
Here's what I suggested to Facebook friends (I'm sooooooo grateful for them) last week:
It's almost November. If we can't agree on the election, can we agree not to engage in those gaggy daily gratitude posts next month? We know you are so thankful for your amazing kids, grandkids, wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, friends, friends of friends, house, vacation houses, job, cars, boats, bikes, etc. Because you told us last November. And the one before that.
If that makes me a Grinch (I'm sooooooo grateful for Dr. Seuss), so be it. Subject me to your (and I'm again sooooooo grateful to singer Mary J. Blige for this term) "holleration. " But I'm not alone. There are at least 150 others just like me. That's the number of thumbs-ups and comments my dump-the-30-Days-of-Gratitude proposal received.
(OK, one comment wasn't supportive. At all. A troll, one who was bare-chested in his photo, grumbled that I was being negative using language I can't repeat here. So I tried my hardest to write something back positive to him. "Great shirtless profile selfie!" was the most I could muster. I'm sooooooo grateful for the blocking feature).
I've lost patience with this and other peer pressure parades like this summer's "Love Your Spouse Challenge," in which couples were supposed to post a week's worth of lovey photos to demonstrate their adoration. If you truly treasure your significant other, tell it to her/him in the very next room; tell it to God. Why tell it to our 4,074 "friends" (120 of whom we actually know and 18 of whom we actually like) and shirtless trolls. (I'm sooooooo grateful for clothes.)
We should all give thanks for the people, possessions and pleasures in our lives. All the time, not just 30 days a certain time of the year. And authentically as the spirit moves, not on demand. And out of a sense of reverence and out of respect for our relationships, not for show.
Still, if my Facebook feeds remain filled with forced appreciation this month as I'm posting an obnoxious number of pet and pie pics, I will still remain thankful.
I'm sooooooo grateful November is one of the shorter months.
Thanking you in advance for your email:
jchristman@arkansasonline.com
What's in a Dame is a weekly report from the woman 'hood. You can hear Jennifer on Little Rock's KURB-FM, B98.5 (B98.com), from 5:30-9 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Style on 11/01/2016