Celebrating penguins, squirrels and bubble wrap

January is a strange month and not just because it's my birthday month.

Amid the hangover of all that holiday cheer, we Americans still want to celebrate.

The Super Bowl is still a few weeks away, so we make do with other observances.

We pride ourselves on having a national celebration for everything, even penguins.

My mom celebrated National Penguin Awareness Day on Friday. It was a good excuse to party at her retirement home and snack on a few Oreo cookies in keeping with the black-and-white theme.

Personally, I've always liked penguins. I'd rather watch a bunch of penguins at the zoo than a political debate.

No doubt, most Iowans probably missed out on Penguin Day because they were besieged by all those Democratic presidential candidates trying to win the state's caucus votes, the opening salvo in this year's presidential campaign.

I've never really understood the logic of presidential candidates stumping for votes in cold-weather states in the middle of winter.

The candidates follow up the Iowa vote with expensive campaign trips to New Hampshire, where they can tramp through the snow in search of primary votes.

Meanwhile, the smart voters have already left that state for winter vacations in Florida.

The candidate who is smart enough to spend time in Florida at this time of year gets my vote.

I've never been a winter person and fail to see why we should be thrilled to see presidential candidates standing out in the cold like a bunch of penguins.

The real penguins, on the other hand, probably would love to watch our presidential nomination process. No doubt, they'd feel pretty superior to all those coat-laden candidates.

If you don't like penguins or presidential candidates, there are a lot of other reasons to celebrate January.

The month has days celebrating everything from tossing fruitcakes to Organize Your Home Day.

The latter day fell on my birthday. Unfortunately, I wasn't organized enough for such a national observance. In our home, we're still trying to locate our DVD remote control, which disappeared during our recent remodeling adventure.

I also missed National Clean Off Your Desk Day -- my desk at work still looks a mess -- and National Nothing Day. I know absolutely nothing about National Nothing Day. I plan to keep it that way.

But all is not lost. Wednesday we can celebrate National Hugging Day and Squirrel Appreciation Day. Have you hugged your squirrel today?

Our dog, Cassie, certainly appreciates squirrels. She loves to chase them around the yard.

January is also the month we celebrate Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. It's next Monday for those who want to hold a party for the packing material.

Maybe we could just wrap all those presidential candidates in bubble wrap, along with all those contestants on TV reality shows.

Now that would make January truly memorable even before we get to National Compliment Day. That observance is on Jan. 28 for those who need some lead time to think of something nice to say.

For now, I'll just have to be content with partying with squirrels.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.