So, I found myself looking into this whole July 24 birth stone business the other day. Not for myself, you understand. My own birthday is in a completely different season, and I’ve never been one for these kinds of things, really. But it’s for my niece. Her birthday is bang on July 24th, and she’s hitting one of those ages where you’re supposed to get them something meaningful, or so her mother, my sister, tells me.
My sister, she’s always been into the symbolism of things, you know? So, I thought, okay, fine, I’ll figure out what this birthstone stuff is all about. I had a vague idea that different months had different stones. Sounded simple, right? Well, like most things these days, it’s not always as cut and dry as you’d hope.
First, I did the obvious thing, asked my wife. She usually has a better memory for these details. She sort of waved her hand and said, “Oh, July? That’s a red one, isn’t it?” Helpful. So, red. That narrowed it down, a bit. Then, I did what we all do – a bit of poking around on the computer. And sure enough, the name that kept popping up for July was Ruby. Okay, Ruby. Sounds nice, sounds classic.
But then, you know how it is when you start looking into something. You pull one thread, and a whole lot more comes with it. Some websites started talking about “alternative stones” or stones linked to the zodiac sign, which for late July is Leo. Suddenly, it wasn’t just Ruby. There was talk of Onyx, or even Peridot for Leo, though that’s more an August stone traditionally. It’s like trying to buy a simple cup of coffee these days. You ask for coffee, and they hit you with twenty questions about beans, milk, ethical sourcing, and whether you want a sprinkle of unicorn tears on top. Whatever happened to just… coffee?
It reminds me of my old job, years ago. They hired me for a specific role, said “you’ll be doing X and Y.” Clear enough, I thought. Six months later, I was juggling X, Y, Z, and they were asking why tasks A, B, and C weren’t also done. People just love to make things more complicated than they need to be, don’t they?
Anyway, back to the stones. After wading through all that, it seems like Ruby is still the main, traditional one for July, and that includes the 24th. So, that’s what I’m aiming for. Something with a bit of ruby for the niece. Nothing too extravagant. Kids have so much stuff now. I remember when a new pocketknife or a good book was the height of birthday excitement.
It’s funny, though, how these traditions, like birthstones, hang around. Gives people a bit of a story, a bit of a connection to something, I suppose. In a world that’s changing faster than you can blink, maybe these little anchors are not so bad. So, yeah, my little “practice” in figuring out the July 24th birthstone led me pretty much straight to Ruby. Now the real challenge is picking something a modern teenager will actually appreciate. That’s a whole other investigation for another day.
