This weekend is kind of a big deal. Carrie and I are celebrating our birthdays. Hers is tomorrow, Saturday, August 30. Mine is Sunday, August 31. Labor Day is on Monday, September 1. A three-day weekend where our birthdays land on Saturday and Sunday. The stars have aligned.
What are the odds? Seriously. Let’s find out.
How many times has this happened since we’ve been together? Not a lot. This weekend is a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of deal.
The Trinity of Calendar Math
For this to happen, three things to line up perfectly.
- Carrie’s birthday (August 30) has to be a Saturday.
- My birthday (August 31) has to be a Sunday.
- Labor Day has to be September 1.
The day of the week for a specific date shifts every year, and then you have to deal with leap years fucking everything up.
The Timeline
I actually pulled out a calendar, because of course, I did.
- Last time this happened: Labor Day was on September 1, 2014. 11 years ago.
- Next time: The next one isn’t until 2031.
- How often? This pattern seems to repeat about every 5 to 6 years, but that’s just a general rule. It’s not a given.
This weekend is only the fifth time this has happened since we’ve been together.
- 1997
- 2003
- 2008
- 2014
- 2025
- 2031
11 years since the last one and another 6 until the next. I mean, who knows if we’ll even be around for the next one?
Shit. Now I’m just getting morbid.