Birthday Bemusings

I meet a lot of people who hate their birthdays. They wish the day would pass quietly and unnoticed. One friend in particular hates the fact that I even know when her birthday is. If she had her way, people would never find out that she even has a birthday, let alone when it is.

Well, I just can't let that happen! Tonight is the celebration of a friend's birthday. Her actual birthday was a few days ago, but this is the first time we could get together to have the grand celebration. My friend wasn't going to do anything special for her birthday, but I--in all of my bubbly birthday be-rapturedness--planned a birthday get-together just the same.

Here's my thinking: you only get one a day a year when you are legitimately allowed to be the center of everybody's attention, so why waste that? Now I know that a lot of people have a problem with growing a year older, but I don't see a birthday as that at all! A birthday is a celebration of life--a celebration of your life.

Everyone is so happy and enthralled when a new baby is born. Why do we lose that enthusiasm for living as life goes on? A birthday is a chance for you and everyone you know to give thanks that you were born and to celebrate all of the wonderful times that you have had while on this earth and to anticipate all the extraordinary times yet to come in your life. Who cares about the number of candles on the cake? If anything, the higher the number, the better! Because the more numbers you have, the more life you've had, so the more you have to be thankful for and celebrate.

Birthdays rock! Celebrate them! Shout from the rooftops that it's your birthday and you're glad to be alive! Because life is a gift and none of us can ever have enough of it. And if you're a birthday-scrooge and you intend to stay a birthday-scrooge, then just make sure I never find out when your birthday is!