January Birthday = Weather

Everybody who knows me well knows I don't like my birthday. I have already dealt elsewhere on this blog with some of the many reasons why: Capricorns are stodgy, the first week of January is when you go back to school after vacation, you get one birthday/christmas present instead of two separate ones, everyone is all partied out and doesn't feel like celebrating your special day, et cetera, et cetera.

When I turned 60, I declared myself free of the intractable circumstances of my birth, and changed my birthday from January 3 to July 14. Bastille Day--very French. Fireworks and trumpets...pour moi? Picnics and pool parties, just like my luckier sister, friends and cousins always got. Now that my ruling planet is no longer Saturn, I don't have to be frugal, logical, hardworking and practical. Instead, I'm ruled by the moon, and can be dreamy, emotional and intuitive.

Perhaps the worst aspect of a January birthday has got to be the weather. The older I get, the more people have nothing better to talk about, especially in January. My mother used to say I was born in a blizzard. I recently discovered an interesting online tool to help people check the veracity of statements like hers: http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/MACS/birthday/newbirthday3.jsp Here's what it has to say about the day I was born:

I'm not sure what T" stands for in terms of rainfall and snowfall. But there was over a foot of snow on the ground, more than we've got at the moment in Springfield--and this while we're still digging out from winter storm Hercules. Up top is what the view from my loft looks like at the moment. On the other hand, it's quite a bit colder today than it was 66 years ago--10 degrees at midday as I'm typing this, and predicted to go down as low as 14 below tonight, not counting the wind chill factor. Beat that, Mom!