Why Pride Sunday is like New Year's Day

It occurred to me today, after watching the Pride Parade and enjoying the crowds in The Village, that for many of us Pride Sunday is like New Year's Day. I think there are many of us who (whether we actually recognize the impulse or not) measure the year from Pride-to-Pride. For many, there's a "ramping up" involving extra (or first!) visits to the gym, wardrobe updates, plans for entertaining (in our homes, at the homes of friends, or at favourite dining establishments) and other preparations for the big weekend.

Once the festivities (and subsequent recovery period) are over, there's a certain "back to business" attitude that informs the weeks immediately after Pride. Can I keep up my gym schedule, now that I will cover up again? Can I sustain the open attitude toward meeting strangers and friends in the celebratory mode that manifests during Pride Week? What changes lie ahead for me personally between now and next year's Pride?

Like traditional New Year's resolutions, all too often the gym schedule slips away, we shut down some of our openess and adventurousness, and old patterns reassert themselves.

Maybe this year will be the year that I finally grow up and out... into the world. Living with authenticity. Sharing my gifts with the world and accepting the gifts life has to offer.

Maybe this year.

See you next Pride!