I don’t understand why so many people I know don’t make a bigger deal out of their birthdays.  They still go to work, they cook dinner, they MIGHT get together with a few friends, but most seem to stop caring about their birthday somewhere in their 20′s or early 30′s – especially if they have kids.  I really don’t understand why.  Are they bothered about getting older?  ’Cuz I kinda thought that was part of the point of living – to actually get older.  You can’t be afraid of both dying young AND getting older, that’s just irrational.

Do they feel like it’s too self-indulgent?  I’d say that funerals are self-indulgent.  Taking a day to celebrate the fact that you haven’t forced your family to have to pick out your casket is really a present for THEM.

Is it because it’s a reminder that they haven’t accomplished much in the last year? Are you kidding me?  You’re ALIVE!  That, in and of itself, is a massive accomplishment!  You have managed to not cut yourself on a soup can, get tetanus, and die (I’m not sure if you can actually die from tetanus, but whatever it is, I’m sure it sucks).  You have not pissed off a biker at a bar and had him tear you limb from limb.  You have not had your stomach explode from trying to button skinny jeans.  You have not attempted a Liam Neeson stunt, because we all know that only HE can survive an explosion on a snowy mountain, a car wreck off a bridge into a river, AND a plane crash.  You have not torn the tags off any pillows (and if you have, let’s keep our fingers crossed, because I heard pretty serious &*%$ can happen if you do).  You have managed to dodge, thwart, prevent, and outwit this scary, scary world, and lived to die another day.  Dammit, you deserve a cake.

Even if it’s a cake made by a 6-year-old who is attempting to co-opt your 33rd birthday (Hmm, are the two rows of 3 supposed to represent “33″, or are they supposed to add up to “6″?).

Today is MY birthday – although, I’m sure you probably already knew that since you probably got the day off of work, and heard all the news stories about it.  Plus, there were the fireworks…

I like my birthday.  And 33 sounds good to me – much better than 32.  I’m not sure why, since my most immediate thought upon turning 33 is that it was also the age Jesus was when he was crucified, so the optimism is a bit incongruent.  Maybe it’s the fact that this is the first time in 5 years that there hasn’t either been a campaign to work on, or schoolwork for Lukus to do to earn his master’s degree.  Maybe my body has finally rebalanced after having had Eisley 3 years ago (she was brutal on me!).  Maybe it’s my new job homeschooling my friend’s two kids along with my own, or the fact that Taytem can now toast some waffles for herself and her sister.  Perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve been slowly plodding through Plato’s Republic for the last two years and FINALLY finished it today.  Or it might be because I have the trip of my life coming up (more on that in another post).  Who knows?

What I do know is that this is going to be a good year, and I’m going to celebrate it, and I hope you’ll join me because I’m going to start this year and my “back to blogging” day by giving away a copy of what Lukus got me for MY birthday:

Leave a comment below about the best birthday you’ve ever had since you’ve been a grown up and you’ll be added to the drawing.  Considering how many people read this blog, you’ve got like a 1 in 6 chance of winning, so just go for it.  We can’t let six-year-olds have ALL the fun!