Some people like sharing their birthday with other people, and some people don’t like that so much. I don’t know how my grandmother, Anna Spencer felt about sharing her birthday with her first child, Laura Frederick, but I suspect that she thought it was pretty cool. Of course, on the birthday that she spent laboring to give birth, I don’t suppose it was so much fun. Nevertheless, on the subsequent birthdays, it was very likely reason for celebration. I expect my Aunt Laura felt pretty much the same way. Having a “birthday buddy” or “birthday twin” as some call it, is usually considered a blessing by most people who are blessed to be such.
Aunt Laura was an only child for the first ten years of her life, and no one has been able to tell me for sure, why 
that was. I suppose Grandma just had trouble conceiving that second time. I know it happens, but ten years later, when she had my Uncle Bill Spencer, she also quickly had my dad, Al Spencer, and my aunt, Ruth Wolfe, so trouble conceiving doesn’t seem to be the likely culprit. Nevertheless, Aunt Laura had Grandma’s undivided attention for those first ten years, and the two of them were very close.
That said, I’m sure that Aunt Laura’s marriage and subsequent move to Minneapolis, Minnesota from Holyoke, Minnesota was probably a sad blow to Grandma’s heart. It’s not that the two places were so far apart in miles, but in those days, it wasn’t always easy to just jump in the car and go for a visit. It must have felt like losing 
your best friend, and since Aunt Laura was just 19 years old at the time, that also meant that Grandma was left with three children under the age of ten. Of course, Aunt Laura and Uncle Fritz came for visits when they could, and she knew how much her mother loved and missed her, but her life was in Minneapolis now, and that was all there was to it. Those visit back home must have been bittersweet for both of them, but I’m sure they cherished each one. Today is the 111th anniversary of Aunt Laura’s birth. Happy birthday in Heaven, Aunt Laura. We love and miss you very much.
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