In ten days I will celebrate the 44th anniversary of my birth.
Until that day, I will post one birthday memory a day. Hey, it’s my blog; I’ll talk about myself if I want. Isn’t that the point of blogging?
Today I will talk about the general calendrical position of my birthday.
It kinda sucks.
Oh, you wanted more than that? OK…
I remember being very young when I realized that, date-wise, I got screwed on the whole birthday thing. It only took a month or two of kindergarten, and having classmates get to celebrate their own birthdays in class, with cake and presents, to show me that I would likely never get to share in that experience. My birthday, for all the years I went to school, fell exactly three days after Christmas Day, and three days before New Year’s Eve – smack-dab in the midst of Christmas Break.
And, of course, with Christmas being the 800-pound gorilla of holidays and gift-giving, I’m sure that my parents felt some pressure to not celebrate my birthday as much as, say, my sister’s birthday, which was in November. We’re already socialized to give lots and lots of presents for Christmas; my parents must have faced the pressure to just hold back some for me and save them for three days later. In fact, when I tell people when my birthday is, that’s a common reaction: “Oh, you probably got fewer presents for your birthday, right?”
As common as that idea is, I scour my memory and, other than the hole caused by a lack of social sharing by having a party with friends, I did not lack for birthday presents. My dad said once to me, as an adult, that they both saw the potential unfairness and worked to avoid it.
I have sometimes joked that I should celebrate my half-birthday, on June 28th. A summer time birthday would be easier to ’round up folks to celebrate with me, and people might be more likely to purchase gifts.
But after forty-four years, old habits are hard to break. My birthday is the 28th day of the 12th month of the year, and will always be.
(Hat tip and huge thanks to Tracy, my best friend in the world, for this idea!)