March is coming up and it’s always a busy month as we transition from the cold winter months into spring blooming on our way to the warm summer months. They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, but the weather services are currently calling for high 40s to low 50s to start out the month, so we just might be able to ease our way into spring.

Of course, that old expression might not be weather-related, but instead to the constellations, in this case Leo and Aries. Leo rises in the east early in March but Aries sets in the west at the end of March.

According to nationaldaycalendar.com, March 1 brings in a load of National Days, many of which the average person may not know about. In addition to being National Pig Day and Horse Protection Day, it is also National Play Outside Day, National Sunkist Citrus Day, Self Injury Awareness Day, National Fruit Compote Day, National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, and the Global Day of Unplugging.

A Global Day of Unplugging is something that all should at least consider trying. From sundown to sundown on Global Day of Unplugging, a 24-hour period kicks off, to unplug, unwind, relax, and do things other than using today’s technology, electronics, and social media.

In this day and age, as one goes out and about, seeing people on their phone has become a ubiquitous sight. People scrolling in stores, distracted while driving, and distant at the dinner table. Not only that, but many of us find ourselves doom scrolling on various social media, looking for the latest bit of outrage clickbait telling us just why everyone who disagrees with us politically is wrong and probably a horrible person.

The world could do with a lot less of that and a lot more dealing directly with each other and being reminded that those faceless masses of opponents are our neighbors, friends, and family.

Nationaldaycalendar.com says, “Disconnecting or unplugging from all the digital static offers us an opportunity to reset. It also allows us to make more human connections with the people around us. Digital connections lack the tactile essence of the real world such as sounds, smells, and touch. Eye contact, for example, lacks depth in the digital world. In person, however, we gain a sense of someone even if we don’t know what it is yet.”

Another benefit of unplugging is better sleep. When we push away from the computer, put down the smartphone, and turn off the computer, we’re more likely to stretch our legs. Going outdoors into the fresh air, we might actually get more natural exercise causing our bodies to sleep better.

Looking back to the calendar, March 2 is National Read Across America Day, the birthday of Dr Seuss. The annual event is part of Read Across America, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association. Since the event is designed to encourage reading in children and is fostered through the schools, when March 2nd lands on a weekend, the day is observed on the closest school day.

Coming middle of next week on March 5 is Ash Wednesday, which brings us into Lent.

Then Beware the Ides of March. When the world used the Roman calendar, the middle of each month was called the “Ides.” What makes March so special? Well, the 15th was always the midpoint in March, and in 44 BC an oracle predicted Julius Caesar’s downfall to be no later than the Ides of March.

Maybe the ides we are bewaring is Daylight Savings Day on Sunday, March 9, when we move the clocks forward and collectively lose an hour sleep and have to recalibrate our schedules. At the very least our pets are suddenly surprised getting their meals an hour early, which means we get a few days off from the daily “beg for meals starting an hour before mealtime” routine of many pets, until they recalibrate their own inner clocks.