PSA: Birthtimes

So everybody in the world has one of 366 birthdates, and with 6 billion people alive just now, that's a lot of people per day. I guess the Leap day babies are exceptional, but other than them, we're all in pretty much the same very crowded boat.

I've always remembered birth times, though, and I think that might be the way to separate us all.

I was born at 12:48 p.m. on a Sunday. I always liked that 12 went into 48 perfectly, four times. Although "four" in Chinese sounds like "death," I associate it with nature -- as in, the four seasons. And in China, the four seasons are also associated with different personality characteristics, flowers and ideas, so there's a good Chinese side.

Tyler was born at 3:34 p.m. on a Tuesday, I believe. He was born in 19 minutes, is how the story goes, though I believe that was 19 minutes after Mom arrived at the hospital, and they used forceps, which may or may not have affected the shape of his head. Still, if I ever end up having a kid or kids, these are the genes I hope have been passed on.

Spencer was born at 2:44 p.m. on a Wednesday, though I doubt the accuracy of the doctor's watch in this instance, simply because I'd prayed for him to be born at 2:47 p.m. (And if God gets you within three minutes, why wouldn't God make it precisely what you asked for?) When I prayed this during evening prayers the night before Mom went in to be induced (at 9 a.m.), she asked why I had prayed it; I said I didn't know. I still don't.