Family notices

Since becoming a mother, I have become an avid reader of the Dominion Post birth notices. Although I read them every day, Saturday is the day when most people advertise their progeny. Most Saturdays there's someone I know there.

This Saturday it was our dentist (boy) and our former personal banker (also a boy). I've never met the former personal banker, but she has a distinctive name (which used to appear at the bottom of letters when our mortgage came up for renewal). That counts as "knowing" someone.

I also sometimes read the deaths column. This has the advantage of remaining constant (unlike the weekly ebbs and flows of the births), but it can be very depressing. Unlike the births, you are hoping that you don't see someone you know there.