My brother-in-law Jeff asked my husband and me a question when they were in Missouri for a visit a few years ago, and I haven’t quit thinking about this topic since. I’ve found it so fascinating and such a great conversation starter that I thought I’d ask you, our wonderful blog readers, to share your answers!
Jeff asked us what “patterns” we’ve seen in our lives—numbers or dates or seeming coincidences—that form patterns. As an example, Jeff is a second-born, married to my second-born sister. Each of the children in Jeff’s family had 1 boy and 1 girl, meaning his parents had 3 grandsons and 3 granddaughters.
My own parents had a dozen grandchildren, 6 boys and 6 girls. I am the oldest of 4 girls and 1 boy, and I’m married to the oldest of 4 boys and 1 girl. Now, of our 4 children, one of them has 2 kids, one has 3 kids, one has 4 kids, and one has 5 kids.
Our newest grandson was born on my mom’s birthday and our first granddaughter was born on Ken’s mom’s birthday. (Even more notable—and sad—is that Ken’s mom lost her only brother on her birthday and five years later, Ken’s dad also died on her birthday. So it was a very joyous day when our granddaughter was born on her Great-Nana’s birthday!)
These are the kinds of details that were I to put them in a novel for one of my characters, people might think it was very unrealistic. And yet they are true in my real life!
There are other, less notable patterns in my life. For instance, our oldest and youngest grandkids were both born in December. In fact, 4 of our 14 grandkids were born in December. Our oldest son and his wife both have October birthdays and they also got married in October. Both of our sons-in-law were born in February and two of our grandkids were born on the same day in February.
Two of my kids share May birthdays with me, and in any given year, our birthdays always fall on the same day of the week. This year they will all fall on a Friday. I’m sure the chances are greater in large families for things like this to happen, but still, I think these patterns are pretty rare.
Our granddaughter being born on my mother-in-law’s birthday was redemptive and sweet, but other than that, these patterns, for the most part, have no deep meaning or serve no life-changing purpose. But still, I think they are fascinating and fun to think about.
I’m curious if you have discovered any “patterns” in your own life? I’d love to hear about them in the comments—and especially whether you’ve found any meaning and purpose attached to those patterns of your life?
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What a beautiful family! Congratulations on the newest birth! 🙂 Precious!
Thank you, Melissa. We feel so very blessed!
So interesting! I loved walking back through all these dates and occurrences in your life.
In our family, Gran (Joe’s mom) died on my nephew Brandon’s birthday, and I have always looked at that as two birthdays. Hers to eternal life and Brandon‘s, of course, to life here on earth. I love that the Bible records far more death days than birthdays. And what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:4 gives believers such joy and hope. “…that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.” Such a different perspective from this earthly one. 😉
Amen, amen! And my sister reminded me of another pattern: everyone in our family of origin (plus inlaws) who has gone on to heaven has gone in October! My sister, Kim; my mom; and my brother’s first wife, Kris. So October is a real month of remembrance for us.
I never thought about patterns in my life. So interesting. My favorite pattern – my real name is Naomi Ruth. My daughter’s middle name is Elaine. My son married Ruth Elaine. She is the most amazing daughter-in-law any mom could have!
That is so COOL, Sunni! Love it! And what a tribute to your daughter-in-law. I love hearing about great in-law relationships. Seems we mostly hear about the difficult ones. But I know of many great ones, including my own with my mother-in-law and now with my daughters-in-law. Thanks so much for sharing that! P.S. I think “Sunni” fits you perfectly!
Growing up, my immediate family birthdays were all similar. Dad was June 28. Mom was March 28. I was May 27 (just a smidge early), and my brother was August 14, which is half of 28. In my husband’s family – his dad was born on May 22, his mom on Nov 22, and they were married on Dec 22. My youngest son was born on March 22 and his middle name is in honor of his PopPop. My husband’s two siblings were both born on the 20th of a month, leaving Wes the odd man out with a bithday on March 9. Until our niece was born on the exact same day. 🙂
I think it is human nature to look for patterns. There is something comforting in finding connections. None of my kids share the same birth day number, but I like that all 5 of us (parents + kids) have birthdays in the M months. Two in March and three in May. 🙂
Oh, that is really amazing, Karen! So cool that you all have M birthday months! And wow on all those 22s!! I love that you say it’s human nature to look for patterns and connections. I agree. And maybe when we get to heaven we’ll learn that there was more to it than we even suspected. After all, God is the Creator of numbers and patterns and they AMAZE me!
By the way, you reminded me that Ken and I were both born on the 30th of our months. And just to connect our connections 😉 July 22 is the birthday our granddaughter shares with Ken’s mom. ❤️
Both of my children and my husband were born on Mondays. My second grandson was born on my mother’s birthday. My mother, my mother-in-law, and my daughter-in law’s middle name is Marie. My son, Mother-in-law, and father-in-law were all born in November. (My son’s birthday is in-between theirs.) Several of our in-law relatives and mine share the same birth month or day-date. My grandsons (from the same family) were born four years apart. I could go on. . . 😁
I am smiling big! That is so cool! And I love the way you can just rattle them off. Sounds like your family has talked about these cool patterns before! And you reminded me that our oldest daughter’s middle name is after the middle names of my mom, Ken’s mom, and two of our sisters: Ann. Except we gave our Tobi an “E” on the end of her Anne in honor of Anne of Green Gables. 🙂
I really enjoyed reading all your data…. I must have some…. We have 7 children, 21 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren, plus two great great grandchildren…. But I’m also 93 years old … and really not up to that sort of task.
Thank you for sharing…. Very interesting!
Haha! You made me laugh, Jane! And wow! What a blessing to have lived to see your great-great-grandchildren born! Amazing! As for being up to that sort of task, whenever I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep, I always pray for my grandkids and then recite all their full names and birthdates, hoping that will help me remember them as I get older and more forgetful! Thank you for sharing and what a wonderful legacy you have!
Certainly not as extensive as your patterns, but we were married on 5/25, our son’s birthday is 2/5, and our daughter’s birthday is 7/25. And coincidentally, my husband and I both had our appendixes out the same month, same year, miles apart. How’s that? 😀
That is awesome! Especially the appendixes! My brother-in-law was in the hospital having his appendix out just down the hall from where his wife was giving birth! 🙂
Your post spurred a few thoughts! First, my first two children were each born on Maundy Thursday, but 2 years apart. (One has a late March birthday, one an early April.) My last child shares a birthday with my sister’s second child, who came one year after mine. I also share a birthday with my sister’s youngest child–and my sister’s second child (the one who shares a birthday with my youngest) is pregnant with her 2nd, which is due on the day her sister and I share! Also, my mom, me and my sisters were all married in June.
This was fun! I’ll have to look for more patterns!
Wow, D’Ann! You have a LOT of patterns. I love all the shared birthdays! And June weddings. Isn’t it fun to think about these?
Love this post and a chance to think of patterns. I have always been aware of some reversals, but now have thought of other patterns.
My father was in a family of 5 boys and one girl. My mother, 5 girls and 1 boy. I have 2 children, a son and daughter. My son has a daughter, and my daughter has a son. Both of my grandchildren were born on the first day of their month. My son was looking for a family name and decided on Savannah which was the middle name of my mother’s mother (my dear nannie), who was Maude Savannah and called Maude. My daughter-in-law chose her grandmother’s name, Virginia, for Savannah’s middle name. Almost 2 years later my daughter and her husband couldn’t agree on a name for their expected son. They live on the west coast. We’re on the east. During many phone calls, she was getting frustrated because her husband kept coming up with “strange Roman” names. One night she called and said she thought they finally agreed on a name and asked wasn’t Julian a family name. I knew she was thinking of my cousin Julian from family reunions when she was growing up. The funny thing is he was named after my grandfather, Julian Calvin, who was married to Maude Savannah.
My mother, my granddaughter, and I were all born in September. My mother and I were both married at 19. My father died on November 18, six weeks before his birthday. My husband died January 18 (two years ago), six weeks before his birthday.
I have enjoyed this trip down memory lane making family connections.
Oh, you have some really neat ones, Betty! Thanks so much for sharing them. Your parents 5 girls, 1 boy/5 boys, 1 girl is even more a rare than Ken and mine must be!
Three that instantly come to my mind are both of my children were born in March. I had a C-section with my second, my son, & could have scheduled it on the same date as my daughter (15th) but there were 7 years between them & thought they each might want their own day so my son was born on the 11th. Now one of my granddaughters shares March 11th with her uncle. My husband & I were both born in September exactly two weeks apart (although I am a few years older). I didn’t realize until years later that my husband & I share the same wedding anniversary with my paternal grandparents. I’m sure there are others. I just love stuff like this too!
Love all those patterns, Tammie. So interesting. What you said about scheduling the C-section reminds me that we live in this modern age that does allow us to CHOOSE some of the dates of our lives so we can choose to have matching dates—or not—in some areas. Still, just so interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Hi, Deb. It was interesting reading about your family patterns and thinking about my own. My brother married a woman named Denna. She and I not only share the same name, both of our birthdays are in October. My husband and I had three children – two girls and a boy. Our middle daughter was the first of them to have children – she had two girls and a boy. Her firstborn daughter was born on my stepdad’s birthday. My brother’s first grandson was born on my first grandson’s birthday. Our first daughter was born the day after my husband’s birthday. Our other two children were both born in April, one on the 1st and one on the 4th. My husband served in the Navy in the Nuclear Power Program as an electronics technician. We married right after he got out of boot camp on December 22. Our son also went in the Navy as an electronics technician in the Nuclear Power Program. He married his wife right after boot camp on December 27.
Wow! You have a bunch of patterns too! It seems like the more we think about them, the more we find! Thanks for sharing, Deena.
I am one of six children: boy, two girls, two boys, girl. Our eleven children, with the exception of the oldest and the youngest, all were born in even number years. Two of my nephews were born on the same date, two years apart. My daughter was born on my mom’s birthday, April 28. They were very close.
I love all those, Pam! (And my grandmother’s birthday was April 28. 🙂 )
I’m from a family of seven, but the birthday of the sister I’m closest to always falls on the same day of the week as mine.
I hope you get to celebrate together!
My brothers and I all married people older than us. My mom and my mother-in-law have the same name, although they spell it differently. My sisters-in-law both come from families of all girls. (My husband is an only child.) Both of my brothers have one step child and one biological child. One brother has two daughters (one step and one biological), I have two sons, and my other brother has two sons (one step and one biological). I have a nephew two years older than my older son and a niece two years younger than my older son, and all three of their birthdays are in about a one-month span (end of June, early July, and late July). I am 20 years older than one niece and 30 years old than the other niece. When I was born, my parents were 27 and 26, and when my husband was born his parents were 27 and 26. My parents were both born on presidential birthdays (one on Abraham Lincoln’s and one on Thomas Jefferson’s). My older son was born the day before my mother-in-law’s birthday, and my younger son was born on my grandma’s birthday (the last one she had).
Wow! You have quite a collection of patterns. That’s awesome.
I really like patterns-of-life. And numbers fascinate me. I have some. My son was born on February 20th, my oldest daughter, the second child, was born on January 21st, December was skipped and then my youngest daughter was born on November 23rd and my oldest grandson on October 24th. Up one month down one day. December should have been the 22nd to fit in the line-up, but she was born on January 1st! One of my grandsons was born on my father’s birthday and his oldest was born on my mother’s birthday. Another grandson was born on my brother’s birthday.