Opinion: What Month Week Means To Me

As Iowa City starts to ease into yet another historic Month Week, I’d like to share my personal story of how this marvelous paragon of a holiday has impacted my life.

I can still remember my first Month Week. The year was 1999, and my father burst into my room screaming “April! April better fucking win the Month Week Pageant and be crowned Month of the Year, or I swear to God I will lose my mind!”

This was to be my first taste of the joy Month Week brings to us all. Each and every time I hear the ghost of late President Warren G. Harding declare that Month Week is upon us once again, I’m taken back to that special, emotionally scaring moment. To this day, I can vividly picture my father’s mouth frothing as he tore apart potted plants and asserted his undying support for the month of April. Amazing.

Month Week is about so much more than just naming the best month out of the year, though. Like all the best holidays, it’s about people coming together, regardless of background, and tasting each of the year’s twelve months at the annual Month Tasting. It’s almost like Thanksgiving, except one time Adolf Hitler was the keynote speaker (or, should have been).

It’s about progress, and learning through reflection of the past month’s events, like when we learned that having a real-life Jurassic Park is a horrible idea, or when we learned the unspeakable consequences of naming June the Month of the Year (Rest In Peace Old Man Howard, we will miss you forever).

Month Week is really about giving back to the community of Iowa City. Such a unique celebration gives me a real sense of local pride, and the thrill I feel wondering what month will win this time is always enough to carry me through the other fifty one weeks of the year. This year, I ave back by getting involved in the planning of Month Week, and now I’m lucky enough to be able to share why I love this week so damn much.

That’s what Month Week means to me. Every day, I dream of when I will be able to teach my own children about this historic Iowa City event. I can’t wait to watch the months go by, to watch my children grow up until they’re at an age where they too can taste the Months and root for October (who is undoubtedly going to win this year, and all years to come).