Lesson 31. Pass things on when you no longer need them.

This maternity shirt says I'M A VIRGIN in big bold letters. So at first glance it looks like it couldn't possibly be true.



But beneath the main text, in brackets, it says "this is not my shirt". Ah, now it makes sense.

It also reminds us that many things we use can be passed on once they're no longer useful to us.

You could sell them on ebay. Or if you're feeling more generous, why not pass it on for free via the fantastic Freecycle network.

I've given and received some great items, and even made friends while freecycling. you can too.

Lesson 29. Have a Happy Birthday

One of my children was born on Boxing Day – the day after Christmas. So far, she and her siblings think she's lucky, because she gets presents two days in a row. She also gets a birthday celebration with her family on the day, then gets an un-birthday party with her friends later in the year. I hope she can keep that optimistic view of it.

A friend of a friend was recently complaining about the injustice of his birthday, which is on Christmas Day itself. In fact, he thinks Christmas should be held on a different day each year, just like Easter is. "Why is Easter at a different time each year anyway?" he complained, adding "and why can't they do the same for Christmas?"

Still it must be better than being born on February 29! Those people only get a birthday every four years.

I'm pretty happy with my birthday. It usually coincides with the Queen's Birthday long weekend, so I get an extra day off to celebrate. It's not a holiday associated with lots of tradition, so I'm not sharing the limelight with a bigger occasion either.

Does your birthday coincide with a public holiday, anniversary or just someone else's birthday? How do you feel about it?

Lesson 23. If it’s not their business, don’t tell them.

Privacy has taken a battering lately. Big Brother style reality shows are getting us used to learning every intimate detail about other people. The ‘War on Terror’ has also involved a trade-off with personal privacy. But wanting to keep something to yourself doesn’t always mean you have something to hide.

When it comes to the sex of your unborn baby, don’t feel pressured to tell all, or even to find out in the first place. You may not want to risk having the scans. Or you may want it to be a surprise, like it has been for countless generations of new parents.

If you do know the gender of your baby, that doesn’t make the whole world entitled to know too. If you want to tell them, by all means go ahead. There are plenty of gender announcement maternity t-shirts you can get proclaiming it’s a boy or it’s a girl. And now there is also a design for those who don’t want to spill the beans on their maternity shirt. The ‘question mark’ maternity top shown here appeared in the Working Stiff blog written by Darren Garnick for the Boston Herald. You can see Darren and his heroic wife Stacy modelling the shirt on his blog.