Birthdays

Thank you to Bhavya Nk at ishithaa.com  for this Writer's Post Challenge!

     Have you ever noticed that birthdays seem to lose their luster as you age? When I was a kid I used to count the days until my birthday. I looked forward to the cake, the balloons, and the presents!! Let’s face it, when you are a baby or even a small child everyone wants to celebrate your birthday with you. Everyone you know wants to see you shove that first birthday cake in your mouth and make a mess out of yourself. Everyone wants to see you open your presents.  When you are a kid your birthday is right up there with Christmas in the holiday pecking order.

       Over the years something happens. The amount of people who gather to see you blow out those momentous candles fizzles down to your immediate family, if that. For a long time I expected the birthdays of my youth where my mom decorated the whole house, showered me with mountains of presents, produced my favorite things to eat, and sang happy birthday as I blew out my candles. Time passed and things changed.   My mom died, and then my dad and then all of a sudden whether a birthday party happened became solely my responsibility. If I wanted decorations, I had to put them up. If I wanted presents, I had to go pick them out and wrap them. If I wanted a special meal, I had to cook it. If I was lucky, I would go out to eat. All of a sudden I joined my husband in a make it happen duo. The surprise went out of birthdays and it was a big slap in the face.  

      As the years go by, the expectations bar falls from expecting the whole she-bang to being delighted that so many people wished you Happy Birthday on Face Book, your kids drew you special birthday pictures, and when your husband finally came home you got to go shopping for something you had been needing or hoping for as a special birthday present. You settle for blowing the seeds from dandelions for your birthday wishes and bypass the birthday cake, because let’s face it your ass is big enough. People just don’t expect to make a big deal out of an adult’s birthday. It makes me wonder why a toddler’s birthday is more worth celebrating than someone that has reached the ripe old age of 45 or 50. Do we lose our worth or need to be celebrated as we age?         

      There have been a lot of lessons to learn as far as birthdays are concerned. Bottom line, they are for celebrating that wonderful person and the life they live and getting a year older. As longer as nothing terrible happens, it is always a happy birthday. It is another day you woke up, breathed in air, and appreciated that you were alive another day to enjoy life.