Middle Child's Day: A Look Back

          For those of you who forgot or didn’t even know – and I’m guessing that’s most people – it's been a whole month since Middle Child's Day. August 12, to be exact. I've taken my self-imposed post Middle Child's Day mental health break, and am finally ready to talk about how the day went.

          I’m sure many of you were too busy celebrating World Elephant Day, National Vinyl Record Day, or a host of other lesser holidays to remember, but here at the International Middle Child Union Middle Child’s Day Command Center, we were working around the clock and around the world to make sure people didn’t forget. I spent most of the day spreading the word over the airwaves from Boston to LA, making stops in Allentown, Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Des Moines, Hartford, Kansas City, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Seattle. I even reached all the way up to Toronto and all the way over to New Zealand, appearing on the nightly public affairs program “The Project.”

          Closer to home, however, things did not go as well, as the day was unacknowledged by several members of my own family. Ouch. And when I see tweets like these appearing on Middle Child’s Day, it’s hard not to get a little… disheartened. 

          So every year after Middle Child’s Day is over, I can’t help but wonder if maybe I could’ve done more. I start to think that all my effort was for naught. But just when I think it might be time for the I.M.C.U. to close up shop, I get a sign that maybe I’m actually making progress. This year, that glimmer of hope was “The Daily Chronicle,” a one-sheet newsletter circulated at my mother-in-law’s nursing home.

          Middle Child’s Day was the lead story -- headline news, above the fold! And then I find out “The Daily Chronicle” isn’t just available at my mother-in-law’s skilled nursing facility. It’s available at senior living settings all across the country!! Granted, it’s hardly reaching the masses, but it certainly has better circulation than most of the people who read it, so it’s a start. 

NEW ZEALAND UPDATE: On a recent broadcast of the New Zealand nightly current affairs show “The Project,” Kiwi rugby legend/guest presenter/Middle Child Kieran Read  offered to be a spokesperson for the I.M.C.U's efforts to raise awareness of Middle Child’s Day in New Zealand. As head of the I.M.C.U. I’m jumping at the opportunity! I may not know a scrum from a ruck, but I do know having a Kiwi rugby star on our team would be huge. In fact, I’ve already cooked up a fancy title for Read: I.M.C.U. Regional Director, Southwest Pacific. The transition from rugby union to Middle Child union should be an easy one for Read. It would be a no-show job for the most part. But if the day ever comes that we get a Middle Child’s Day parade in Auckland, I definitely expect Kieran to be our Grand Marshall riding on the I.M.C.U. float.

Official Middle Child's Day Recognition in New Zealand?

          The night before Middle Child’s Day (a.k.a. last night), I was featured in a segment on the New Zealand nightly current affairs show “The Project.” I was on the show a few years ago when the threat of Middle Child extinction was all the rage, but the focus of this piece was about my ongoing, relentless, and questionably effective efforts to raise awareness of Middle Child’s Day.

          Part of that effort has included reaching out to cities and towns asking for official recognition of Middle Child’s Day, but this time I decided to swing for the fences and made an appeal to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, asking her to issue a proclamation acknowledging August 12th as Middle Child’s Day in New Zealand.

          Official recognition from a whole country -- wouldn’t that be something? I mean, who cares that New Zealand is only about the size of Colorado and has roughly as many people as Louisiana? Not me. So what if there are five times more sheep than people. Official recognition would be nothing to sneeze at. Unless, of course, you’re allergic to sheep. But hey, ya gotta start somewhere. And New Zealand is as good a place as any. They've even had to deal with some Middle Child issues of their own in the past, being left off world maps as I wrote about in a previous post. So it seems like a good fit.

          Of course, the PM hasn’t responded, and probably won’t. But I’m not going to let that ruin my day. No, today is a day for celebration. Nothing's going to burst my Middle Child’s Day bubble! Until I realize that no one remembers it’s Middle Child’s Day. Well, that was fun while it lasted.

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts -- click here to follow the blog.

 Follow on Twitter @midkidmusings "LIKE" on Facebook.

New Zealand Deals With Middle Child Issues

I.M.C.U. backs #getNZonthemap campaign.

Mapmaker, mapmaker, make me a map...
with New Zealand on it!

     Recently, I learned of a global crisis crying for attention. Well, actually more like just a globe crisis.
     As reported by multiple media outlets, including a recent episode of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” it seems New Zealand is frequently left off of world maps. Granted, most people probably already have no idea where New Zealand is, but this only makes matters worse. (Actually, maybe that explains why people have no idea where it is.)
     Exactly how big of a problem is it? There’s a subgroup on Reddit called “MapsWithoutNZ” and a “World Maps Without New Zealand” Tumblr where you can find New Zealand-less maps from Ikea, the World Health Organization, and from other places all over the map. Oooh, sorry New Zealand. That was probably insensitive. Even New Zealand’s own government website left New Zealand off the map! I mean, really. The problem is so serious, the Prime Minister of New Zealand launched the #getNZonthemap campaign to help get her country back where it belongs.

Something’s missing, alright!: Even 
New Zealand’s website left New
Zealand off the map, for godsakes!!

     As the founder of the International Middle Child Union I knew it was time to act, so I have an important message for the people of New Zealand: we feel your pain! After all, Middle Children know all too well what it feels like to be left out. Forgotten. Wiped off the map, so to speak. So how can we stand by and watch an entire country get the Middle Child treatment? That’s right, we cannot!
     That’s why today, the I.M.C.U. is announcing its full support for New Zealand’s efforts to regain its rightful place in the world. Or at least on the maps of the world. We’ll be reaching out to millions of Middles and spreading the word on social media to “Stop Treating New Zealand Like A Middle Child!” (Not that it means much. I mean, I can’t even get Middle Children to recognize Middle Child’s Day. But it’s the thought that counts, right?)
      I am calling on Middle Children all around the world to stand with New Zealand as they struggle with this cartographic catastrophe and seek the recognition they deserve. It's a horrible injustice for a nation with more sheep than people to be treated like the black sheep in this way. Ironic, sure, and maybe even a little bit funny -- but a horrible injustice nonetheless.
     In closing, I’d like to echo the words of the late, great Middle Child John F. Kennedy -- and I’m paraphrasing here: “All Middle Children, wherever they may live are citizens of New Zealand, and, therefore, as a Middle Child, I take pride in the words Ich bin ein Kiwi! -- I am a Kiwi!”