Many Wishes

Every year I get numerous birthday wishes on facebook I am very grateful to be remembered. Is that the purpose of birthdays, to be remembered?   What about all year long?  So many emotions are tied into birthdays.

When you were a kid did you go to birthday parties?  Did you have any? Many kids didn’t . Then there were the kids who had the big over the top parties and if you weren’t invited you felt like a loser. Because my birthday was in the summer it was hard have parties, plus that was usually our family vacation time

As we got older there are special birthdays 13,  Sweet 16, 21, 25, 30 etc.  Did they ever lose meaning for you?  Did you have special traditions? I try not to work on my birthday and do something special just for me. It doesn’t always work out.

I heard a line that age is just a number and mine is unlisted. Oscar Wilde said One should never trust a woman who tells her real age; a woman who would tell one that, would tell one anything. He also said No woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating. This is probably why I don’t tell my age as I tire of people judging by a number.  They look good for their age, or at her age should she wear that or do that? I want to be seen for me not a number. Why are ages so often listed? Sometimes it feels like a competition

it is important to feel cared about, appreciated, and even celebrated. Yes, people who like you or care about you or even love you need an opportunity to express it, and you need to hear and feel it. A birthday isn’t just the day you slid through the birth canal. It is also the day you came into the world, began your lifelong engagement with the world, and, every year on that day, you get feedback from those you have engaged with at sometime. It is even a chance to reconnect.

The idea that everyone should celebrate their birthday is, weirdly, not very old itself. Not until the 19th century—perhaps around 1860 or 1880—did middle-class Americans commonly do so, and not until the early 20th century were birthday celebrations a tradition nationwide. Here’s an interesting article on how the tradition of celebrating birthdays began

Acknowledge your birthday however you want. Enjoy the good wishes and know that people remember you and think of you.  If you were born in August, let’s celebrate the whole month. Do what pleases you, no matter how small, from taking a nap, to trying something you never did before.  There is a place near me where you can throw axes. I might try it.

I would love to know how you celebrate, Please add a comment