Hidden "Talents"

In the last year, I have been twice asked to share something that people might not know about me. On the first occasion, I was to write three sentences on a paper about myself. Two were supposed to be true and the other one false. Then people had to guess which was the false one. On the second occasion, I was just to write something that was true, but not well known, and see if people could guess who wrote it. I always have a hard time coming up with stuff like that, because either I keep nothing hidden about myself, or else I have no strange talent or hobby that I would dare to share in public.

It did get me thinking, though, if there was anything unique about me that would be worth sharing. I thought of one thing but it is kind of silly: I remember birthdays. Not just family member's birthdays, but everyone's. If someone tells me when their birthday is, I will usually remember it. I will admit that as I have gotten older, I am not quite as sharp as I used to be. I have a lot harder time remembering the actual date but I still usually remember what month the birthday is in.

When I was younger, I didn't realize that it was unusual to know when all your acquaintance's birthdays were. Often a conversation would go like this.

Friend: "Do you know how old ___________ is?"

Me: "I believe he will be ______ in April."

Friend: "How in the world do you know when his birthday is?"

Me: "He told me one time and I remember it."

Gradually I realized that this was not information that was generally stored in everyone's head and that my brain must be wired a little differently. It wasn't like I tried to remember people's birthday. I just did.

I don't talk much about this "talent" but of course my family knows about it. I think the funniest thing was a few years ago, when Megan said, "Mom, I have just realized that I remember people's birthdays just like you do." We had a good chuckle over it. Nothing like passing our quirks on to the next generation. I really hope there are a few other more beneficial genes and talents that I have endowed her with as well.