A Christmas birthday

Christmas Day has slight add on for me because it is also my birthday.

It wasn't supposed to be so, I was due on Jan 14th, but I had the cord round my neck three times and went into a bit of foetal distress, they think, and there we are.  The cord thing led in the end to an emergency caesarian for my mother. This being a while ago she only found that out when she had my brother 3 years later. There were several unfortunate twists to the story involving tipsy doctors being cabbed in and the fact that it snowed heavily, but despite weighing a small 5lbs 13 oz, I was fine.

What you gain with a Christmas birthday is a uniquely cool feast day, a great day with the family and double presents, oh yes.  The double presents thing was great as a child. As an adult, a day with the family when really no-one does anything except sit around, talk, cook and eat and laugh is the thing.

What you learn pronto is that the world does not revolve around you, because of course your birthday is always totally eclipsed by the day that it is, as it should be.  There are lean times and quite a few, 'I forgot it was your birthday...' over the years and you know who you are, the people who write, 'and Happy Birthday,' on Christmas cards, but who is to say that other people's birthdays are always remembered anyway?