Not only is April 10 a day when Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor residents gets a chance to hear about the school renovation project during a pair of public hearings at the Harbor Theater at 5 and 7 p.m., it also has personal meaning for me in several ways. Sorry that this is a day late if you are reading it after the press run.

My mom, Gloria who passed away from lung cancer nearly 20 years ago (July 12, 2004), was born on April 10. Those who knew her will remember her sweet smile, her work ethic and for birthing seven children.

Also born on April 10 is our second child, son Timothy “Tim or Timmy.” He turned 36 and is spending some time with his bride, Megan, this week in Colorado (about a six-hour drive from their home in Omaha, Nebraska). Mom was overjoyed when she received her living “birthday gift” in 1988.

April 10 is also National Siblings Day – thanks Mom and Dad – and the seven of us had a memorable and cherished childhood, growing up in Boothbay Harbor. With two older siblings and four younger siblings, I learned a lot about what being a good sibling was all about. My older sister and brother, Sheryl and Bruce, set good examples. Sheryl was a stellar student and Bruce was an outstanding athlete. Both gathered friends who visited our house often.

After me came Scott, Glenn, Elaine and David. Mom and Dad filled the house on Gilead Street quickly – after moving into a bigger house than the one they rented on Atlantic Avenue – by having seven kids in 11 years. Scott and Glenn were born just over a year apart, Elaine nearly a year and a half after the “Gemini brothers,” and David was born prematurely (I remember seeing him for the first time in the old incubator at St. Andrews Hospital – a sight you don’t forget) a couple of years later.

My younger siblings taught me a lot about being a “big brother” and hopefully I gave them some guidance about being part of a family – maybe helping to settle a few squabbles along the way did that.

There are too many stories to tell here about my siblings but I hope to gather more and more in the years to come.