Laura Erickson's For the Birds

Every month there is a day when the date is the same number as the month–that is, January 1, February 2, March 3, April 4, May 5, and so on. A woman named Elaine Fremont designated each of these 12 days each year as “Bonza Bottler Day,” an excuse to have a party at least once a month.

Today seems even more important than Bonza Bottle Day, not just because it’s also New Year’s Day, but because it’s 01/01/01. Next year Groundhog’s Day will fall on 02/02/02. The following March third will be 03/03/03. Starting today, every year through 2012 we’ll have one of these numerically pleasing dates, and then the string will be over until the next century.

So since these are literally once-in-a-lifetime dates, I’ve decided I want to do something special, something I’ve never done in my lifetime before, on each of these special dates. In that spirit, today is the day I leave for Costa Rica. I’ve wanted to go there since I was a little girl, and last year I decided I just had to do it before I turned 50, which only gives me this year now. The birding tour I’m going on isn’t starting until the third, but I got a special fare by leaving today. It wasn’t until I got my flight itinerary that I realized just how cool it was to be embarking on this wonderful adventure on O1/01/01.

January first is of course the day I start my new year list. If all has gone according to plan, I left Duluth well before light, and so my first bird will probably be a crow or Red-tailed Hawk on my way to the Minneapolis Airport. I’ll probably add Great-tailed Grackle, starling, and House Sparrow at the Houston Airport, too. But I won’t get into San Jose until after dark, so my very first Costa Rican birds won’t be on my list until January second. But today I’ll be in the air, looking down on the Caribbean, and maybe even glimpse the Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica is a very narrow country, bordering Panama, and I made sure to have a window seat.

We’re each given a finite number of New Year’s Days in our lives. It’s a great time to think about where we’ve been, where we’re headed, and what we’d truly love to be doing during this coming year, and what we’d truly love to be doing during our coming life. Some of our dreams are impossible, but more are possible than we necessarily can see from our own vantage point, unless we shift views sometimes. Whether you view your vistas through rose-colored glasses, a magnifying glass, or binoculars, here’s to every-expanding horizons and finding ways to fulfill your loveliest dreams.