My birthday recently passed. No need to send wishes of belated birthday cheer. My view is you remember or you don't. No big deal. I just don't understand the emotion that is tied up in who remembers and who doesn't, whether there is a big party or not. It is just another day on the calendar, in my opinion.
I am never one to remind people my birthday is coming or declare it a national holiday. Or even to go as far as to view it as a week long festival. Nope not me. It isn't for the reasons most people think it is either. I get a lot of "Oh, not celebrating anymore eh? Getting too old!". Nothing could be further from the truth. I simply don't believe my physical age has any real bearing on who I am or how I think. So it is irrelevant how old I am. In fact I have to actually remind myself my birthday is coming and on occasion the day of. Seriously! I sounds stupid but it's true. This year I was surprised to get an invite to my parents on, what appeared to me, a random Sunday morning for breakfast. Sure my sister and brother-in-law were popping by to pick up their daughter, but that happens fairly often and I am not asked to join them for breakfast. So, I agreed. I woke that morning still wondering what was up, could it be the recent engagement? I figured it wouldn't be that because Loretta wouldn't be joining me (too early), so it seemed odd. Then it dawns on me as I walk out the door, "today is my birthday!". Now it all makes sense.
I follow this story up with me planning to have the guys over to watch the Super Bowl and play some games. During the planning process I realize that Super Bowl is being played on my birthday! SHEESH! Now I have gone and created my own party, how pathetic! It turned out okay because only one of the guys remembered it was my birthday anyway. We all enjoyed the day without tainting it with the birthday party feel.
Now don't misunderstand, I am not opposed to celebrating my birthday, I just don't NEED it. If someone were to make big plans for my birthday each year, I would be happy to attend and have a blast, but I certainly won't be sad if the day passes without notice. Well I guess I expect my mom to remember, she did have to give birth to me on that day.
I just don't get the emotion tied to it all. Myself and my finance were aggressively chastised for not reminding certain people, in fact I was called names by one person. Not sure how to explain that one. Perhaps it was because I had remembered their birthday only a couple weeks earlier and they felt bad in some weird way because they forgot mine. Who knows?! Ultimately I think birthdays are funny. People get all wound up as their's approaches and if all the people they THINK should phone don't they is ruined in some way. I don't get it. The only person who truly invested in the date of my birth is my mother. She carried me around for months and dealt with pain and recovery of popping me out, so it would make sense she might remember that. But as for everyone else....no big deal. Everyone always remembers eventually. A belated birthday wish is just as thoughtful as one you receive on the "special" day.
I may be alone on this one, but nothing irks me more than the gratuitous Happy Birthday greeting. I know people love to be told happy birthday and I frequently pass along the well wishes whenever needed. But I personally don't want people who don't consider someone they would spend time with to feel an obligation to wish me well on my birthday simply because they have the knowledge it is my birthday. So I don't advertise my birthday. Once again the exception to that rule is always if someone is being planned. If a party is planned, call the World and let's do this thing right! Party and enjoy the night, have some fun telling jokes, having a few wabbly pops and relax. If everyone wants to use my date of birth as an excuse to congregate and create some memories then let's do it. But let's not play the social game of "I remembered your birthday, so that makes me special". If you remember your remember, no skin off my nose.
My Two Cents
Jamie
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