I celebrated my birthday this week- Tuesday. It was uneventful and could easily have passed for any other day except that my grandmother called me which we never does and my friend Denise left me a piece of red velvet cake on the front porch which I ate and thoroughly enjoyed. The beauty of getting older is that eventually it fails to bother you that you're getting older. You just begin to appreciate the fact that you aren't dead or dying. Ha ha.
The funny thing is that I'm 36 (shhhh... don't tell) and I realized that it was at this age that my mother had saw her daughter graduate from high school, had a brain aneurism and nearly died, almost lost her father, and became a grandmother. All I can think is damn. What a lot to happen in her short life. Then again, Zoë is a Junior and will graduate soon. I pray she doesn't get pregnant any time soon because I'm still doing the mommy thing, I'm not ready to do the grandma thing. But overall, I've been very healthy.
I think birthdays and getting older have somehow become less exciting over the last few years. I don't feel the need to make a big deal about it like I used to. It's become just another day. And that's sad. I think we should all celebrate our birthdays with great pizazz because being born is certainly the greatest gift any of us are ever given. I think we should love ourselves enough to make a big fuss about the fact that we have graced this Earth with our presence. Why shouldn't we?
And for that matter... why aren't we also celebrating the people that brought us into this world? I always tell my parents, "Happy becoming a parent day" on my birthday. I'm the first born and I gave them the first opportunity to succeed (or fail) at being a parent. What a wonderful gift!
My final thought on birthdays is in regards to gift giving. I used to send cards out to everyone I cared about on their birthday. I have a calendar that tells me everyone's birthday and their kids' birthdays and I sent out 30+ cards a month. It was a way for me to let them know I was thinking about them and I was celebrating their birth because I was glad I had the chance to be touched by their life. I did this for years. Last year I decided not to do it because it was expensive and it felt like the people I was sending cards to didn't really care. No one said thank you. And last year when they didn't get their cards, no one said they missed them. Well... not no one. One person said she missed my cards for her and her kids. And this year she sent me a birthday card.
I can't tell you how happy it made me. How it put a smile on my face (not just because the card was funny). I remembered why I sent those cards. It was not for me, but for the people I cared about. So... this year... I'm going to save myself some money and make funny little birthday cards for the people I care about and send them out. I hope that they appreciate the cards, feel special and loved and know that I care about them. I hope it makes others feel as good as it made me feel to receive that card.
Happy birthday to me. And happy life to you.
