Birthdays, everyone has them. But we didn't all come by them the same. Yes technically there are different stories of birth and the like, however I am speaking of our individual histories of birthdays, our own personal experience.
What was your tradition or lack thereof? Everyone has a built in sense of what a birthday should be like, feel like. It can be changed later in life, gleaning a different perspective from a spouse or friends.
How were birthdays celebrated for you?
Did your family do something when you woke up? Were you greeted in the morning with a "Happy Birthday!" or was it saved for later in the evening? Did you get the luxury of having it celebrated all week? Or did everyone forget all together?
We put-out whatever was put-in initially.
The tradition "put" in me was a greeting right when I woke up. My mother or father, or even my sisters would say "Good Morning birthday girl!" in a singing sort of way...you know how that goes, drawn out and sweet. Sometimes there would be a glitter worded sign or a balloon or two in my room when I woke up. Never the less it was always first thing in the morning an acknowledgement of my special day.
There were years that we had birthday parties, surprise parties, or maybe just dinner with a home made cake. My experience with birthdays is that they were always special. There is a down side to birthdays as well. As children, I believe we can be extra sensitive to things that go wrong on our birthday.
My 13th birthday was a real disappointment, not because my family forgot but because everyone who was invited to my birthday party decided not to attend. It was supposed to be a surprise. I was with my best friend Lisa at her house. She and I were going to Circus Circus to celebrate my birthday, a casino here in Vegas that had games for all ages, but we needed to stop by my house for some "reason or another". My immediate family members greeted us with "surprise!".....Surprise? Just my family? My mother had to pull me aside and explain that she had invited my classmates and that not a one of them had showed up. I felt a bit betrayed to say the least, but we made the best of it, my first-best-friend Lisa and I.
As we get older, time becomes scarcer and birthdays sometimes end up just being another day. Some people don't feel comfortable making a fuss all for themselves and yet others demand it, shout it out from the rooftops!
This year I tried something different, I decided to take the day off and be alone on my birthday. I enjoy being alone at home, piddling around in my PJ's leisurely enjoying a cup of coffee. The weather was perfect and the day went by much too fast and my expectations to accomplish all the things I enjoy doing were of course astronomically high as usual.
The reality of birthdays is that they are special, they should be special. Many lives would be different if you or I were never born. I believe we underestimate our impact to our little spherical worlds.
Maybe if we were to make a list of people that we know or have known throughout our lives...wow! now that's a task! That list would be simple and easy if you're 5 years old! But to make a list at the ages of 20, 30, 40, 50 and so on, it would be long! I dare you to try and write down all the people who have been in your life, family, friend, acquaintance, classmate, co-worker, service worker, stranger whoever it might be...how long would your list be?
It would be long...I know it would be!
Because most of us don't live on an island to ourselves, no we make an impact on people near and far much more than we will ever know.
My point is, your birthday is a day you should treasure, make a fuss over, make plans and make it special, even if you're the one who has to do it. Because you deserve to be celebrated EACH and EVERY year.
Happy Birthday!
