Anyone who has known me for a while knows the following things about me:
- I'm not religious,
- I have a creepily good memory for dates, and
- I am particularly fond of birthdays.
I'm not that into holidays. People tend to chalk that up to my not being religious, but even the non-religious holidays don't get much attention from me (as I mentioned in an earlier post, I haven't celebrated Halloween since I was still young enough to trick or treat).
The exception to this is birthdays. My favorite holiday is your birthday.
I don't know why this is, exactly. It's partly because my brain works just like Facebook: The clock strikes midnight and I think, "Okay. Today is November 18. This means it's my cousin Sandy's birthday. And I'm jealous of her, because she shares a birthday with Margaret Atwood."
But I also really like birthdays because I just really love that it gives me a reason to celebrate the people in my life--their quirks, in particular. My friend Travis is a huge biology nerd. The year he turned nineteen, our mutual friend Tracy and I went online and bought him a couple of giant microbes. He wrote on our Facebook Walls when he received them in the mail: "Thanks for giving me mono and the flu!" The lack of sarcasm made the twenty or so dollars I spent on his gift more than worth it.
I am, admittedly, perpetually five years old about my own birthday (WHICH IS NEXT MONTH, YO). People keep telling me I'll get over it once I get older, but I hope that never happens. I think the fact that people have always been so good to me on my birthday adds to why I extend that to other people. I'm a pretty noisy person--it's quite easy for people to figure out what makes me tick. But even so, it means a lot when someone does something for me that they couldn't have done if they didn't know me all that well.
So this is why I love birthdays: It's my excuse to party err'day. :-)
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I find myself increasingly bitter about birthdays. Don't get me wrong, I love making other people feel special, I really do. It's MY birthday that's the problem. Ever since I moved, it's just not been a terribly special day for me. This year was a low when my brother forgot and my parents gave me an IOU. I enjoy other people's birthdays immensely more than my own when I am permitted to be a part of their celebration. The best part of my birthday this year was Facebook, and it just feels kind of pathetic.
ReplyDeleteHaha, that didn't sound depressing or anything! Keep enjoying birthdays, age doesn't have to change anything for you. I do wish that I had your memory for birth dates! I remember immediate family and a few friends but that's it, numbers like that just don't stick in my head.
Ah, and thanks for reminding me that I need to check on a birthday present for a friend. To the internet!
Birthdays are weird things. I have always loved how you could remember people's birthdays. It's a fun skill and you make people feel loved!!
ReplyDeleteBut the other side of the issue, I don't want people here to know when it is my birthday because my birth is a private thing. I don't want to share it with these people.
Sarah: I should have probably prefaced this post with the fact that I wrote it because I am aware that I am apparently the only person who loves birthdays. I get that most people don't, for the exact reason you mentioned.
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