There are 365 days in the year and it seems like almost all of them have been claimed for some sort of awareness day for one reason or another. The year is almost half over and we have already had National Spay/Neuter Month, World Spay Day, National Hairball Awareness Day, Be Kind to Animals Week, National Kids and Pet Day, National Pet Month, Adopt a Cat Month,  Hug a Cat Day, and Pet Appreciation Week to name just a few. As a cat blogger, this can really start to get out of hand, especially when some awareness events fall on the same day and don’t get me started with the ones that have nothing to do with cats such as Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, Winnie the Pooh Day, and National Asparagus Month.  How does one prioritize all of this awareness? I typically leave it to other more talented people to champion and just hand pick a few special days to highlight throughout the year such as World Spay Day, which is my all-time favorite, not to mention, I prefer to love, hug, and appreciate my pets and animals all year long and don’t really need a specific reminder to do so.

All of this got me to thinking that I need my own National Awareness Day. After all, I do have something I have been trying to bring to bring to someone’s attention for over two years and all of my efforts have been a dismal failure. I need some serious awareness going on to make a dream of mine come true and therefore I officially declare today, June 8th, National Deborah Barnes is Trying to get on the Ellen DeGeneres Show Awareness Day.  Why today of all days? Well, mostly because I have temporarily run out of things to blog about and this fit into my schedule. Also, because I really like Saturday’s.

As most of you who have been following my blog know, my ultimate bucket list goal in life is to appear as a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres show. I have been a fan of hers since the 1980’s when she first started doing stand-up comedy and she is one of the reasons I am who I am today – an author, blogger, and cat advocate. All things I had no idea years ago would be such an important part of my life. Due to an epiphany moment that occurred while I was watching her show back in 2009 while I was going through a very stressful and emotionally trying time after being laid off at 48 years of age, a light bulb literally went off in my head and I realized I did have the strength and courage to change my life and that is how and why I wrote my first book, The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey.

As a result of her positive influence on me, when I wrote the book, I actually devoted an entire chapter to her called “Of Godwinks, Ellen, & Afghans” and it would be my greatest dream come true if I could be a guest on her show to bring her an autographed book and to personally thank her for saving my life. Now I am sure you are all saying to yourself, wow Deb, you should contact Ellen and tell her this, you’d make a great guest.

Right. If only that’s how life worked. It would be easier to break into Fort Knox than reach Ellen and let’s just put it this way, rather than list what I have tried to do to get her attention, it would be easier to list what lengths I have not gone through. But to appease your curiosity, to follow is  a brief sampling of some of the things I have done. I won’t bore you with everything, as I don’t want a public record that could put me away for stalking, but let’s just say that I have tried every tactic – from extremely heartfelt and thankful correspondence to very funny, creative, and off the wall measures. I even reached out to her to let her know that her pet food company, Halo, donated 5000 meals to shelters on my behalf for Zee & Zoey’s Cat Ruler of the World Campaign for a Cause Contest I founded.

So, here’s my thought. If any of you would like to help me state my case and raise awareness for my cause, please feel free to contact Ellen on my behalf. In other words, I’m begging you, PLEASE CONTACT ELLEN ON MY BEHALF. There is a tab on her website called “be a part of the show,” and the general email section “dear ellen” would probably be a good one to use if you want to send a message of support my way. Just click here to find the link and feel free to use any of my images here if you need to.

Naturally, if I get on the show, I will make certain to tell the whole world just how wonderful cats are, why people should adopt them as pets, and I will also talk about the critical importance of spay/neuter. It would be a win for kitties across the world and I would be eternally grateful to all of you! Plus, I will bring an extra pair of cat ears as a gift to Ellen and make her wear them. Wow! Her ratings will surely go up as a result of that alone! I will also bring all of you with me as a guest on her show as a gesture of my thanks (this is not actually going to happen – I just made that up to get your attention).

Thank you all and I invite you to have fun with this if you want. Go ahead and tweet, share on facebook, or whatever else you can think of! This doesn’t have to be limited to one measly day… I’m willing to call this National Deborah Barnes Campaign and Marathon to Get the Ellen DeGeneres Show if that’s what it takes!