I was buying a birthday present the other day with Keenan in tow.
As we were getting ready to pay, the sales clerk asked how old he is. I told her he'll be two in September. Then she asked what day.
That's when I got a little prickly.
So I took a deep breath and told her the date and braced myself for any number of comments. At this point I've heard most of them:
"Oh, that's so sad."
"How terrible."
"Poor guy--to share his birthday with that."
"How does he feel about that?"
Yes, Keenan was born on September 11th.
We didn't have much choice in the matter (anyone who was around me that summer can tell you--I was ready for him to move along in August!).
There are always going to be days for all of us that are associated with a sadness or tragedy, but those days also have huge blessings for others. Sometimes I just wish people would think about that before they speak. Especially in front of my sons.
So after I told the sales clerk Keenan's birthday I found myself holding my breath, bracing for her response. What she said was something I had not heard before.
"Wow...that's my son's birthday too! He'll be two this year also!"
Shazam--didn't see that coming!!
She also knows two other little boys with the exact same birthday. Wow.
We talked for a few more minutes about boys at that age, but the nicest part was having someone understand and feel the exact same way as I do.
What a blessing.
1 comment:
In the class I taught for two years in a row (looped) I had not one but two children born on 9/11/01- the day of the tragedy. I talked with their parents a lot about it and the thing we came up with was what a blessing that life continued to go on and begin on that horrific day...so all the 9/11babies from now on are just testimonies to that.
And...no one will ever forget their birthday, which can also be a good thing!
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