"Let's do our calendars!"

When I was little, my mom had us "do our calendars" at the beginning of every month. This meant that my mom would sit down with me and my sisters, her calendar and notebook (she always carried a spiral notebook in her purse), and a big manila envelope of stickers. We would go through the month, day by day, and she would tell us what school events, holidays, birthdays or appointments we had. My mom collected tiny stickers of different colors, shapes and themes, so it was really fun to pick one to go on each special date, and I practiced my writing too. This ritual was obviously really beneficial for my mom, as it gave her a chance to sit down and get our schedule straightened out, but it also built great time-management and organizational skills for me.

One year (1991, maybe?) I got a Mickey Mouse-themed calendar for Christmas that came with a whole sheet of stickers for different holidays and events. There were several rows of stickers with pictures of balloons and birthday cake, and a little line where you could write someone's name. Early one morning, in my excitement to "do our calendars", I wrote my own name on every single birthday sticker! It made sense to me at the time...