I generally sort of hate birthdays. They are just so anticlimactic. You wake up and think "Wow, it's my birthday." Then you spend the entire day hoping that each person you come in contact with does something to show you they actually remembered it. And the more people forget it, the more depressed you get.
I'll never forget my 40th birthday. I wish I could. A month before it, my husband asked what I wanted for my birthday, and I told him where I wanted to go. We had a perfect opportunity the week my parents kept our kids, but he totally blew it off, so it was obvious he had no intention of taking me there. I knew better than to even hope for that, so I quit asking for anything. But I still hoped that someone would do something a bit special since it was my 40th.
The day of my birthday, my mother in law brought over a card and ate a really good steak dinner with us that I had cooked out on the grill. My husband finally got home from work around 8:30, and I let him reheat his steak in the microwave. He didn't even get me a card. A few weeks later I got some necklace that a friend of his brought back from Africa for me... I still am not convinced that he had planned that as my birthday gift though. I think he just used it so he could pretend he hadn't forgotten to get me anything... he could use his friend's delayed return from Africa as a reason for the late gift.
This year he never asked me what I want yet. I don't expect to get anything at all. I'm not expecting much more for our 20th anniversary that is also coming up before too long.
One of my favorite books is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Jester. I love the one quotation: Expect the unexpected and the unexpected never happens. It is one of those sayings that you have to think about twice. However in this case, I don't think it will apply. See... I don't want a lot for my birthday. I only want to feel like someone put a bit of thought into my gift. It's not about the expense, it's about knowing they remembered without me telling them, and that they know me well enough to anticipate what I might like.
So the unexpected thing in this case would be someone going out of their way to get me something I really like without me having to give them a list of suggestions. I'm too much of a realist to ever be able to expect that to happen! Heck, at my soon advancing age, a shock that large could kill me!
3 comments:
Happppppyyyyyyyy Birthday tooooo youuuuu...
Happpyyyyyy Birthdayyyyyy tooooo youuuuuuu
Happy Biiiiiiiiiiirthdayyyyyy deeeaaaar LAAAAAAARRRRRAAAAAAA...
Happyyyyy Birthday too youuuuuuuuu!
See, I even hopped on line when my cousin & her boytoy were here just for you! :D
Awww thanks Myssa :)
I won't ask how you knew. LOL
Hope you had fun laughing @ the texans!
Actually I found it later in the day Base. I was out of town for the day, so the increment was a bit larger, but the greeting was equally appreciated. :)
As for your comments on birthdays being another day... that's true. And I'd be just as happy to get the special things on another day. I guess I just hope for them more on my birthday because I don't get them often on other days.
As I told Buddha Girl, I did have one very happy thing happen for my birthday. No I didn't get any presents yet, other than a check from my mom via the mail (and 2 days early). I was promised a gift from my husband (we'll see if he delivers... I'm not buying myself what he told me he planned to get me). I was also promised a check from my mother in law to pick up one of two new books I have been eyeing... I can get them for less than she can, so she's just going to give me the money.
But the good thing was a phone call from a very close online friend... who SANG me happy birthday. This is not a friend who sings. I don't know of anything that could have been much more special to me. I am still smiling about it. :)
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