I think about Jacqui Shannon, a friend I met at Camp Squamish. We’re born on the same day. Then I think about camp and how that summer changed my life–making the best summer possible for kids with physical and mental disabilities. The thing is? Those kids changed my life. They were so filled with joy–we lost our voices singing, I’d go to bed my legs jelly from jumping ‘spilled eggs’ for hours on the trampoline. And the best pudding and oranges food fights ever.
Then I think about Sinoun, also an April 7 girl. Riding the Bangkok skytrain with her and Chantria, getting photo booth pictures and McDonald’s–no McDonald’s in Siem Reap. And Chantria’s face while she watched The Princess Diaries in the big Siam Square movie theatre.
Then I think about my mormor, my mother’s mother, who was born April 8th, and my farmor, my father’s mother, who was also born April 8th. I didn’t have the chance to meet my farmor, she died before i was born. And most times when Mormor visited, or we went to Denmark, it was in the summer, or Jul. So we never celebrated together. But she would send cards, say “Tillykke med fødselsdagen” and draw me pictures of the flowers coming up in her garden.
We Aries are supposed to be impulsive, fiercely loyal, spontaneous, wildly creative, fiery. We start imaginative projects, then get everyone else involved–and when we get bored, we bail and move on to the next exciting thing. For most of my life this was true. I thought that personality got me through tough times, but also to some very interesting places. 2 am Bombay for instance. Annapurna. Penang. Calcutta, even Brackendale, BC. I think Aries have stamina, great staying power. We get things done 
