Tomorrow, August 12
Does that make me 30? Not 48?
A little birthday story....
There were (allegedly) twin hurricanes which hit the East Coast sometime around August 12, 1955. Dumped a lot of rain, wind and cold weather on the Philadelphia area.
My mother went into labor, not knowing she was having twins.
Boy, were my parents shocked.
My grandmother, upon being notified, kept asking, "Are you SURE it is twins? I thought it was going to be a boy."
Now my parents had to come up with a second name.
The hospital staff suggested they name us after the twin hurricanes, Connie and Diane.
(I would have been Diane............UGH! That's even worse than....)
Rosemarie.
After St. Rose of Lima. The first American saint (albeit South America and hence not as "good").
She was a penitent.
I was not only unexpected and second, but my patron saint was someone who punished herself for others' sins. (Apparently, that's all one had to do to be a saint in the Catholic church. Oh, and be a virgin. Which she was. Oh, and be a martyr, which she kind of was because....she did, oh, really wonderful stuff like wearing a crown of thorns and clothing with barbs. Slept on a bed of rocks. She died at something like 30 or 32 (no f*cking wonder).
Rita weighed 4 pounds at birth. I weighed a whopping 5 pounds. That, of course, earned me the moniker, "the fat twin".
And so it goes, to this day. Rita Marie is beautiful, 95 pounds, 5'1". A Ph.D. I have 3 college courses to my credit. Okay, I have a 4.0, but how difficult is that to do with only three courses? And all courses I like?
But I'm feeling pretty good. Rita may have been the popular one, the pretty one, the thin one, but I have worked very hard at being witty (and believe me, it's not easy...I bomb much more than I kill) and being thoughtful and considerate. That's not easy either. But I try.
And tonight, I'm seriously thinking of going back to college. No, it won't be at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania (also known as the University of PC), and not just to get a degree, but to learn. I want to learn how songs are crafted, which means I need to study music. I want to learn how great art is crafted, so I have to study art. I want to learn how great literature is crafted...and on and on.
Big dreams from a very insignificant person.
I was panicking tonight, because for some reason, I couldn't log on. I couldn't imagine not celebrating my first birthday since 1984 without you all. You mean so much to me. And I know you'll all help me get through the pain of not hearing from my daughters.
Thank you all. You have taught me so much, shared so much with me....I have learned a lot since I "came" here.
You are all the best.
Rosemarie
