Beaches and Birthdays Weekend Coffee Share 10/7/18

Good morning, Everyone. How was your week? Do you have weekend plans? The coffee is great-especially at the beach. Matt and I took a Fire Island cottage at Davis Park for the long weekend. I am getting one last ocean swim in for 2018, spend some time with my beach pals, and soak in the last trace of summer sun. Matt hopes to surf cast and catch that elusive striped bass.
I was feeling a little melancholy this week. Two of my three daughters had their birthdays without me. Hallie and Robyn are star-twins; sisters born on the same date, three year-eight hours apart. When the doctor calculated the due date for Robyn’s birth on October 5th-Hallie’s birthday- I shrugged off the possibility. Who has a baby on their due date? My two older daughters were born five to seven days past their expected dates; a reasonable wait. I was grateful for Hallie’s tardiness since she was expected when Hurricane Gloria slammed onto Long Island destroying the coastline and knocking out the power for a week. Even the hospital was running on a generator. So, when I went into active labor with Robyn on Hallie’s birthday, I was surprised.

Star-twins held so much intrigue. I envisioned mystical connections developing between the sisters. Perhaps an intuitive relay would emerge keeping them linked to each others’ souls. The pediatrician deflated my fantasies by reporting siblings born on the same day was a common occurrence. He gave me a very believable and dry explanation, but I still liked the idea of star-twins and considered it special.
Over the years, we celebrated the girls’ birthdays with two cakes, separate friend parties, and lots of presents and kisses. As the years marched forward, they fluctuated from loving to despising the shared celebratory day. They grew into unique, incredible young women who are devoted sisters but not mystically connected. Now that their lives scattered them far away from each other and me, I have had to surrender my birthday coordinator role. Sentiments over the phone pale to actual hugs and kisses. This year is especially melancholy since my baby, Robyn, turned 30 (sigh). My kids are officially older than me.
My eldest daughter, Sara had felt a little left out of the star-twin festivities. She would have been satisfied to share a birthday with a cousin, but instead, she shares a birthdate with my brother. It is not quite the same.
Time to get on the beach. The tide is down so beach glass and shell hunting should be good.
Once again, thank you, Eclectic Alli for managing Weekend Coffee Share. Have a good weekend and week, Everyone. Make it great.

Antoinette Truglio Martin is the author of Hug Everyone You Know: A Year of Community, Courage, and Cancer. The memoir is a wimpy patient’s journey through her first year of breast cancer treatment.

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