I’m pretty sure that I’m the only person that finds it weird not to have birthday parties once you’ve reached a certain age.
I mean, there seems to be a lull between decades once you hit 30.
I can vaguely remember my last birthday party before I turned 30 was when I was 24 and in college.
But, like with all college kids, birthdays were the best excuse to party – even If you didn’t know the birthday baby at all!
And, depending on who was celebrating, the party could be the hit of the month or semester.
They also didn’t care how old a person was as long as they were old enough to buy alcohol or drink at all!
College kids just liked any excuse to party and I’ll be the first to admit I ignored most of those events if I felt uncomfortable or didn’t know the person.
Though, if I saw that person days later in class or the library or something I’d wish them a happy belated birthday.
Now, it seems like no one seems to care to celebrate the years between 30 and 40 or 40 and 50, and so on.
It’s like, no one has time anymore.
Or, maybe it’s just too odd to ring in a birthday on a “party” scale once your friends are married with kids or have demanding jobs that suck all the fun out of their lives.
Me, personally, I’d rather celebrate each year with family and friends as much as I can on my birthday.
Especially with the people we lost to COVID-19, other illnesses, and the passage of time.
Now, to be fair, I’m not advocating for it to have to happen on the exact date of someone’s birth, but, at least within the week.
It’s hard, especially when a birthday falls in the middle – like mine is on Wednesday this year.
That means I can either have my usual family festivities the weekend before or the weekend after.
In truth, I know that outside of my family and closest and oldest friends – no one knows when my birthday is until Facebook or I personally remind them.
Even then, sometimes my mom mixes up my birthdate with my brother or sister or some other family members.
Despite that, I’m fortunate enough to not have her forget my birthday at all and she tries consistently to shower me with gifts, special trips, or even small breaks from work accordingly.
I’m also very blessed to have a group of friends that send me well wishes and treats.
I guess you could say I’m very fortunate to have such people in my life and maybe that’s a large part of my motivation for birthday celebrations.
For me, a celebration doesn’t have to be a huge party with decorations or music or an obscene amount of alcohol.
I prefer small, intimate settings where my friends and family can be relaxed and just enjoy the moment.
Usually, we’ll go out to eat, watch a new movie and probably play video games.
Sometimes we go on little trips to events like the Texas Renaissance Festival.
And really, I have to confess that my favorite birthday activity is pumpkin carving with my siblings.
It’s the little things that create the best birthday memories and I just wish that everyone could experience them every year.
At the very least I’ll share mine with all of you once it happens!
