Two in One Month?

That Pretty Lady Sitting Next to Me in This Photo is Having a Birthday Today

We're all very excited that it's Tara's birthday, today. Yep, that's right. I have two family members who share February birthdays that are only 9 days apart. In fact growing up this was just one of the coincidences my sister used to torture me about. You see, numerically my family member's birthdays are all connected by the number nine. My mom begins the sequence having been born on the ninth of January.

And so it begins...
9 + 9 is 18.
My dad was born on the 18th of February.
18+9 is 27.
My sister was born on the 27th of February.
All of these nines were just existing splendidly being all sequential and all until the birth of the second daughter...Me. Theoretically I should have been born on the thirty-sixth of February. I wasn't (for numerous reasons--the date doesn't exist, I wasn't born pre-mature but was in fact a week late, etc., etc.), I was born on July 8th. And so the torturing began...(please keep in mind that this is a highly dramatized account of a younger sibling referring to her older sibling)

Growing up my sister made me aware several times that I had in fact, ruined the entire thing. I suppose this was her version of telling me I was adopted-- something I never would've believed given I felt like I looked like my mother's twin even back then.
Unfortunately for me it took several years before I realized that it was impossible for me to achieve this feat. Even with time travel. There simply are not 36 days in any month. And so I improvised. I tried to figure out how on earth I could fit into the puzzle.

And then I had it. (Score!)

If you consider the fact that most years, February only has twenty-eight days then I decided we could start over with a new sequence from there. Consequently,
27+9= 8, given there are only 28 days in February. OR, if you're a "math person," Therefore::: 27+1=28 & 28+1=1 when 29...x (that highly scientific symbol there is supposed to signify when 29 and above doesnt not exist)
which leds us to
28+1=1 :::(therefore) 1+7=8 And I was born on the 8th. (hells yeahs, I figured it out)

Am I making sense? Perhaps not...but seriously, this is how I spent too much of my time as a child trying to ensure my security in the family chain.

Anyways, enough of my experience growing up in a family connected by nines. This post is about Tara. The lovely, lovely Tara, my bestest friend, my biggest fan, and my greatest supporter. How lucky I am to have you as my sister and confidant, and how fortunate I feel that we are all grown up and our connection can never again be questioned or doubted.

I can't think of much I like about having my sister live in NYC. Other than the free, cozy place to stay in a cool neighborhood, the rest of it pretty much sucks. T, I wish I was with you so I could squeeze you today and tell you just how much you are loved and missed each and every day. From your family on the western coastline, Happy Birthday, Little One. Make a wish.