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As we continue to celebrate fun and important National Days this month, there are also some upcoming days that consider more attention. Of course we cannot forget National Tax Day on the 15^th! And National Healthcare Decisions Day will be celebrated on April 16^th(along with that all important ‘Wear Your Pajamas to Work’ Day)! *

Other important days include National Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day on April 19^{th **}, National Earth Day on April 22^nd ***, and National Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day on April 28^th ****. But depending on your interests or past times, there are many other celebratory days during the remainder of this month that are worth mentioning or just plain entertaining:

April 13^th:       National Peach Cobbler Day and National Scrabble Day
April 14^th:       National Reach as High as You Can Day
April 15^th:       National Take a Wild Guess Day(hmmmm….) and
National Day of Silence (shhh…)
April 16^th:       *
April 17^th:       National Cheeseball Day and National Haiku Poetry Day
April 18^th:       National Animal Crackers Day(still love to eat these!)
April 19^th:       **
April 20^th:       National Cheddar Fries Day(what fast food restaurant where you live makes the best ones??) and National Look Alike Day(are you twins?)
April 21^st:       National Kindergarten Day and National High Five Day(third Thursday in April). I think it’s worth mentioning it is also National Have a Poem in Your Pocket Day(Roses are Red, Violets are Blue…)
April 22^nd:      ***
April 23^rd:       National Lost Dogs Awareness Day, National Picnic Day, National Take a Chance Day, and National Talk Like Shakespeare Day(you may want to ‘take a chance’ and talk like Shakespeare today!!)
April 24^th:       National Pigs in a Blanket Day(I guess it can be the cabbage or dessert variation)
April 25^th:       National DNA Day, National Hug a Plumber Day, and National Telephone Day
April 26^th:       National Help a Horse Day, along with National Kids and Pets Day and National Pretzel Day
April 27^th:       National Babe Ruth Day, National Prime Rib Day, and National Tell a Story Day(giving everyone the right to use the lead in, “Have I ever told you the story about…..”)
April 28^th:       ****
April 29^th:       National Arbor Day, National Zipper Day, and National Hairball Awareness Day (aware of this day with three cats in the house!)
April 30^th:       National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day(YES!), National Bugs Bunny Day, National Hairstylist Appreciation Day, National Honesty Day(can we celebrate this every day?), National Kiss of Hope Day, and National Oatmeal Cookie Day( one of Cookie Monster’s favorite days!)

 

 

 

 

I have often wondered where the celebration of April Fools Day originated and found some interesting(but somewhat vague) information. Some believe the day is celebrated in honor of the trickery Mother Nature plays on us this time of year with her unpredictable weather. I have also read that the earliest reference to this day of potential pranking started back in the 1300’s- being noted in the Gregorian calendar. April Fool’s Day is also mentioned in Britain’s Gentlemans Magazine back in 1776!  That certainly leaves for a few centuries of tom foolery!

April is also the month we celebrate National One Cent Day, Find a Rainbow Day and Hug a Newsperson Day! We have missed National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day(April 2nd) but not to worry….National Caramel Day and Deep Dish Pizza Day is April 5th!! You can also wait and celebrate National Carmel Popcorn Day or even better yet, National Sorry Charlie Day on April 6th.
Who thinks of these things??? 

One National Day to consider celebrating this month is on April 6th:  National Walking Day.  So I have decided to list the 10 top reasons for walking, according to Medicinenet.com.

1. Walking prevents type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Prevention Program showed that walking 150 minutes per week and losing just 7% of your body weight (12-15 pounds) can reduce your risk of diabetes by 58%.

2. Walking strengthens your heart if you’re male. In one study, mortality rates among retired men who walked less than one mile per day were nearly twice that among those who walked more than two miles per day.

3.Walking strengthens your heart if you’re female. Women in the Nurse’s Health Study (72,488 female nurses) who walked three hours or more per week reduced their risk of a heart attack or other coronary event by 35% compared with women who did not walk.

4. Walking is good for your brain. In a study on walking and cognitive function, researchers found that women who walked the equivalent of an easy pace at least 1.5 hours per week had significantly better cognitive function and less cognitive decline than women who walked less than 40 minutes per week. Think about that!

5. Walking is good for your bones. Research shows that postmenopausal women who walk approximately one mile each day have higher whole-body bone density than women who walk shorter distances, and walking is also effective in slowing the rate of bone loss from the legs.

6. Walking helps alleviate symptoms of depression. Walking for 30 minutes, three to five times per week for 12 weeks reduced symptoms of depression as measured with a standard depression questionnaire by 47%.

7. Walking reduces the risk of breast and colon cancer. Women who performed the equivalent of one hour and 15 minutes to two and a half hours per week of brisk walking had an 18% decreased risk of breast cancer compared with inactive women. Many studies have shown that exercise can prevent colon cancer, and even if an individual person develops colon cancer, the benefits of exercise appear to continue both by increasing quality of life and reducing mortality.

8. Walking improves fitness. Walking just three times a week for 30 minutes can significantly increase cardiorespiratory fitness.

9. Walking in short bouts improves fitness, too! A study of sedentary women showed that short bouts of brisk walking (three 10-minute walks per day) resulted in similar improvements in fitness and were at least as effective in decreasing body fatness as long bouts (one 30-minute walk per day).

10. Walking improves physical function. Research shows that walking improves fitness and physical function and prevents physical disability in older persons.