Remembering Sue

[kate_schaefer]

Today would have been my friend Sue's 14th birthday; she would have been 56. In years when her birthday didn't occur, she celebrated it anyway, starting on February 28 and going on through March 1st (or sometimes March 2nd, 3rd, or 4th). She said that having this rare birthday meant that, in practice, she got to have more birthdays than other people.

Comments

[vorona.livejournal.com]

I've often wondered what people born on this rarest of days do about it. This is a good example of how one's attitude can make all the difference. I'd imagine that there are some people who take it in a down way, saying "I don't have a birthday three years out of four" but others, like your friend Sue, take it as a sign pointing to freedom and abundance. I love the idea of celebrating February 28 through March 1st, and extending it for good measure. It's really more logical than the pessimistic view.

For some never-defined reason, March 1st was always a day I set aside for writing personal letters, back in the days before email. There's just something about it that seems like the real opening of the year, and I like the way March 1 looks in ink on paper. Maybe I'll do that this year, again. I had forgotten that until I read this entry.

Your friend Sue's positive and abundant personality lives on, even in this little detail you've passed to us reading this. Thank you for celebrating her birthday in this way.

[amysisson.livejournal.com]

There's a nice young adult book called Leap Day by Wendy Maas, about a girl whose birthday is on Leap Day. I think she belongs (via correspondence) to a national organization of "Leapers".

Anyhow, hope you are able to enjoy your pleasant memories of your friend. It's always difficult to lose someone too early -- and it's always too early.

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Ivy. Sue was an amazing person.

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Amy. It was very hard to have to say goodbye to Sue, and harder to see how much she suffered, even with very good pain control. Even in the suffering, there were always things she enjoyed and cherished, right up to her last days, and she was never without company unless she really wanted to be alone.