Ah yes, happy birthday to me…tomorrow. It’s another COVID birthday and it’s a bit depressing knowing that it’ll be another year of not seeing friends or family. Birthdays were one of the few occasions we actually celebrated when we were young. My dad would buy us a birthday cake and take us out to our favourite restaurant on our birthdays. We never had birthday gifts, but spending the day as a family was a gift already. My dad was a workaholic and was always home late managing his automotive shop, so when he came home early to spend time with us on our birthdays, it was something special.
Now that I’m older, I usually make it an effort to see my parents around my birthday. Though, with COVID, I haven’t seen them for quite some time and I miss how we used to gather even though I was all grown up. The joy about birthdays is that for the one day of the year, it was an occasion that belonged solely to you. Yes, people do have twins and there is always someone else in the world who shares the same birthday (there are only 365 days in the year), but it still felt special. And with that train of thought, Lady Gaga shares the same birthday as me.
Ever since I became a mom, the best gift I could ever ask for on my birthday was a birthday card handwritten by my son. I have one from him every year and he usually draws a picture for me too. These keepsakes are really special to me and are worth more than anything money can buy.
Birthdays have a new meaning now that I’m older. When I was younger, it was a day to celebrate with friends and feel like you’re on top of the world at school. And now as an adult, it was a day to spend with family.
What is your most memorable birthday?