When you’re first born, still in single digits or even hitting 21, birthdays are pure joy: cake, ice cream, parties, friends and lots of presents. Somewhere along the way, however, many of us start dreading them.
It’s only natural to get reflective and wistful as we pass these annual milestones. But there are many reasons to celebrate birthdays. And, as someone who still loves birthdays each year, here’s a list of my top 12.
My dad says that having birthdays is much better than the alternative. Glib and flippant? Maybe. But true? Absolutely. It’s confirmation you have another day on this Earth to live and love.
I am so glad, now steaming through my fourth decade, that I don’t have to make again the bloopers I made in my teens, twenties or even thirties.
Young confidence is sometimes hard to separate from arrogance. But seasoned confidence is subtler, more assured than arrogant (for most folks, anyway).
The older you get, the more you’ve done. Take stock of your life and give yourself a huge pat on the back. You’ve done a lot!
For the things you love to do, you probably don’t even realize the depth of your mastery. But with years of practice comes true skill. For instance, I rarely use recipes to cook, I know how to soothe a baby without looking in a book for clues and the garden in front of our house is thriving with just me as its caretaker.
Whether you’ve been with your partner a long time, or not, you’ve no doubt loved intensely at some point in your life. Aging means you’ve had more time to love and more opportunities and people to love. That’s wonderful!
Who said only the kids get to munch on birthday food? I treated myself to a wonderful chocolate croissant this morning for my birthday. And I didn’t feel one second of guilt.
The older you get the more friends you have from different phases of your life — from grade school and on, through the different schools you’ve attended, jobs you’ve held, groups you’ve joined and cities you’ve lived in. Chances are those folks are sprinkled through your collection of Facebook friends. And when birthdays roll around, many of them send messages and cheery tidings of good wishes. It’s a daylong dose of happiness from people throughout your life. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
I think this is good thing. When you’re young, you merely celebrate birthdays. After you’ve put some real miles on your tires — so to speak — you can appreciate the journey. And you don’t take things for granted, as you tend to do without that perspective.
It’s a day that no one is going to mind if you sing, blow bubbles, dance or just giggle a lot. You can be kid. But you can enjoy that like a grownup.
In our younger years, we might whine when we don’t get the gift we want. Or, when something else disappoints us that seems like a big deal to our childhood selves. With maturity, we know how to put those things in perspective. We know what’s trivial and what really matters.
Birthday cake is still one of the very best things about birthdays, no matter how many you’ve had.
What are some of your favorite things about birthdays? And do you celebrate, or hide, when yours comes along?
Featured image courtesy of Alan Cleaver licensed via Creative Commons.
Becky worked as a reporter for more than 15 years in Washington, D.C.; Sydney, Australia; and Cleveland, Ohio for major publications including the New York Times, Salon.com, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, and was Associate Editor of the Plain Dealer's Editorial Page before she launched the consulting practice, Gaylord LLC. The company helps clients improve their external relations and communication and increase their influence and impact. Becky blogs about that (a few other things) at Framing What Works.
#1, #2, #6 and #11 are my favorites. I am grateful for the ones I love...and the wisdom that comes with age. My wife will tell you I was never short in the self-confidence department ;).
For my birthday, I get homemade blackberry cobbler and Blue Bell ice cream. Forget that cake stuff...
@EmeliaSam I'll make some extra wishes for you! Make sure you have at least one special treat : )
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@BeckyGaylord I do a little of both...hide and celebrate. I start out telling everyone not to fuss, and then end up celebrating for a week. Usually involves doing and eating my favorite things, i.e. dancing and consuming mass quantities of sushi!
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I very rarely celebrate my birthdays, the older you get the closer to death! But, recently with finding new, wonderful, friends I've got more involved and today I spent the afternoon celebrating my birthday, which is on Sunday, with loads of my friends, which all makes it worthwhile ;)
I think that the problem many (or at least me) have with celebrating birthdays is that we have expectations.
If we get surprised or a gift or a phone call from someone any other day of the year, we are thrilled. When we get it on our birthday, we know it's coming and often there is a let down.
For me, birthdays mean learning to rid myself of expectations and enjoy just that moment. Did that make sense?
@newdaynewlesson That last paragraph sounds like theme of a good blog post (or essay or magazine story) for you to write!
@BeckyGaylord @newdaynewlesson Yup-What I love about writing is that it's really good free therapy. I think I have probably at some point written about expectations but will definitely mull over that idea. Thanks.
Thanks for the positive thoughts and inspiration for appreciating our birthdays, Becky, even as we get older. #3 is very nicely put — we do attain a certain quiet confidence that only comes with maturity and experience, and it is something to be grateful for.
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@PaulBiedermann Thank you, Paul. I really appreciate that. I don't know if anyone who knows me would call me quiet, but I am mellower than I was, that's for sure! Thanks for the kind words.
Oh man, I love birthdays! I've always grumbled about mine being too close to Christmas (December 27th), but it's fun to have it during the holidays. Over the years a lot of my friends have been out of town for my birthday, so I've learned the beauty of having a small family gathering and a nice dinner for my birthday. It DOES mean that presents only come (basically) once a year for me, though! ;)
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@annedreshfield Good for you for enjoying your birthday! And you could always name another day -- say June 27th -- as a summer solstice substitute where you could throw another party, too.... #justsaying!
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I have to admit I love celebrating my birthday. I claim the whole month for celebrating. Might as well have some fun.
