Sunday, January 19, 2014

Thursday’s Child

Do you have your original birth certificate issued by a doctor or hospital? Mine has prints of my little inked feet. Unfortunately, it is not considered authoritative for legal issues. I had to send for one with an official embossed seal in order to get my wedding license. The original one did state the day of the week on which I was born: Thursday.

 

The old rhyme with “Thursday’s child has far to go” came to mind. What does that mean? I did a little internet research. Some said the person will go far, be ambitious and be a success. One person thought it foretold the person would travel a lot, see the world. But those interpretations seem to ignore the weight of the word “has”, as in has to go far, must go far. Thursday’s child has a long journey ahead. That might mean a long life. However, the whole poem seems to juxtapose the negative (full of woe, far to go, works hard for a living) with the positive (fair of face, full of grace, loving and giving). Thursday appears to fall in the negative list.

 

The journey is arduously long, a struggle to overcome obstacles perhaps. But a journey to where, to what? In my case, I would say a journey to contentment, to accepting and embracing the real me; maybe even a journey to discover the real me. I am not a late bloomer, one who displays skills past the time ordinarily expected. I am a late believer, a late self-accepter who had to go through many decades before having the confidence and self-assurance to expose strengths and frailties to others. Maybe also a long way to go to be full of grace, loving and giving. That’s a journey still in progress.

 

It’s just a poem, not a predictor of one’s personality. However, it caused some good reflective moments. On what day of the week were you born?

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