If the second Wednesday of a given month occurs one week, then the third Tuesday of that same month will obviously fall on the following week. That's simple logic and common sense. It's also the pattern that helps us keep track of the monthly meetings of two organizations we belong to.
We dutifully went to the every-second-Wednesday meeting last week. This week, then, we headed off for the every-third-Tuesday meeting. It always starts with a potluck, so we had prepared an appealing green salad in generous proportions. I followed my usual potluck habit of taking something conspicuously healthful while secretly hoping a lot of other people would bring desserts.
We left the house in good time, since the meeting was way over on the other side of town. In addition to all those theoretical desserts, we were looking forward to the program. It sounded interesting, based on the description on the reminder postcard we had received a few days earlier.
When we got to the building, it was dark. No cars out front. No lights on inside. No people anywhere. Okay, it was Valentine's Day, which is probably second only to Mother's Day in the number of people who go out to eat, so the turnout may have been light. Still, at least the speaker and the president should have been there.
That was when we figured out that the third Tuesday of a given month doesn't always fall in the week after the second Wednesday. Logical patterns are all very well, but sometimes it pays to look at the calendar. Since the first Wednesday this month was February 1, the third Tuesday won't be till the 21st.
Funny, when we got home and took a closer look at it, that was exactly the date on the reminder postcard.
The same date, probably, that we'll finally finish eating all that salad.
Practical Prairie Woman 