You Say It's Your Birthday? It's MY Birthday TOO!

37 years ago today, my mom woke up and packed a bag. No, she wasn't leaving my father after 14 months of marriage. She was about to give birth to ME!

As the story goes, my parents had visited the doctor for my mom's routine check-up on June 15th and the doctor told my mom that it would be another month before I was born. But having a mind of my own from early on, I decided to make an early appearance the next day. Mom awoke early that morning - at 2:00am because her water broke, cleaned the house, prepared Father's Day cards to be mailed to my grandfathers, packed her bag, and woke up my dad with "Come on, John, we need to go to the hospital." I'm sure my dad's first words that morning were something along the lines of "WTF?!? We were JUST there!" To which my mom replied, "Yes, but Jessica is coming TODAY!"

At 3:00 that afternoon, my parents became parents for the first time. I weighed in at 6 pounds, 10 ounces and just 20 inches long. Plus, I had a full head of hair and big blue eyes.

My mom knew I was a girl from early on in her pregnancy. I'm not sure how she knew, but she claims she did. No disputing a mother's intuition, I guess. So she named me Jessica Lynn before I was born and she talked to me all time during her commute to where she taught. Jessica for my maternal grandfather Jesse Paulk who passed away on my mom's 13th birthday. And Lynn for my mom's college roommate, sorority sister, and best friend, Lynn Ming.

I share my birthday with some noted celebrities including Katharine Graham, Laurie Metcalf, Joan Van Ark, Joyce Carol Oates, Stan Laurel, Kerry Wood, and Tupac Shakur.

In 1992, I celebrated my 21st birthday with the Bulls at their 2nd NBA Championship Rally. In 1996, the Chicago Bulls won the NBA Championship on my birthday. In 1998, together, the Bulls and I celebrated their 6th Championship on my birthday.

According to horoscope.com, this is my very special birthday horoscope:

Happy Birthday! The months ahead are likely to start with a hint of a fixation
on your financial situation: making extra cash shouldn’t be the sole focus of
July. August sees the possibility of a fabulous trip, while September may reveal
a revelation that bodes extremely well for your future. October brings a flighty
but fun mood; November brings some excellent career opportunities, while
December’s planets may create a little tension between your immediate family and
a romantic interest. The New Year could start with a flash of insight on where
you are going with your life. A platonic relationship in the early spring may
ignite your interest, but it isn’t likely to develop into anything more! This
could create very minor tensions until late April, when your feelings settle
again!

UPDATE 7:30am: I always forget until it happens, but each year, the night before my birthday I get almost no sleep. I'm up and down all night and last night was no exception. I'm sure it's simply karmic payback for what I'm sure was a restless night for my mom.