Hi all! It’s the second Monday of the month and this means the Share Our Lives linky goes live. This month, the theme is how we usually spend or celebrate our birthdays.
My birthday is at the end of June, so the weather’s usually pretty good. That is, my parents used to joke that my sister, whose birthday is tomorrow, always got better weather on her birthday than I got. It isn’t true and, quite frankly, now that I have more insight into our family dynamics, it feels like one of their endless comparison games rather than a joke. But I digress.
My birthday and the time around it usually are quite stressful, since it’s the only time a year I ever see my parents and that’s with good reason. Over the past few years, my parents, my best friend and I have often been going out for dinner. It’s always awkward but was more so last year. I haven’t made plans with my parents this year yet.
My sister and her family will also visit me. Last year, this was a bit hard, as my oldest niece was tired and, being four at the time, easily bored. This led to her being cranky and me being cranky from being overloaded as a result. For my birthday this year, we’ve planned a relatively short visit.
All this being said, I do like to have somewhat of a birthday party at the care home. Even at the intensive support home, I treated the entire group to fries and a snack. Last year, I made a cheesecake and also treated the home to home-cooked burgers and salad.
I think gift-receiving is also a fun part of my birthday. The best gift I ever received was my music pillow, which my best friend gave me last year. My parents usually buy me a small gift plus some thrift store items. It may seem stupid, but I do like not knowing what I’ll get even though chances are I won’t be using it much. Besides, I haven’t bought my parents gifts in years.
Now that I look over this post, I realize I honestly don’t know why I usually say I like my birthday, as now that I’m an adult I could easily be buying my own gifts and I don’t like most of the company I get. I think part of it is childlike excitement.
A Multitude of Musings 
As I read I thought why are spending time on such an important day in your life with people you clash with, I would rather be alone the with such people.
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Good point. The thing is, if I tell my parents or my sister that I don’t want to see them on my birthday, I could just as easily go no contact with them and that wouldn’t help me in the long run (and would probably harm me more than having this very limited contact).
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Yeah I understand that
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Maybe it’s time to change things up and do something different that you’ll enjoy. I don’t see why you couldn’t do an annual event with your parents on another day, like one of their birthdays. Just saying…
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Ah, good point. I’ll give it some thought. That being said, one of the advantages of having it on my birthday is the fact that my parents will visit me rather than me having to travel to see them. Anyway, not even sure my parents will visit me this year…
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Oh family dynamics can be so tough can’t they? I do like the unexpected gifts because often I am gifted things I’d never buy myself.
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So true. That’s probably what I like about gifts too.
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Ahh! It does make a difference when the weather is good on your birthday, mine is in November so it’s usually cold and grey.
The party at the care home sounds lovely and the music pillow does sound like a great gift.
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Thank you so much! Yes, I completely understand about the weather, as my best friend’s birthday is in November too.
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My birthday is in August which meant I never got to be the birthday girl in school or have parties with school friends because we were usually away at the time. I’m with you. I get to do what I like on mt birthday now and not mourn the things I didn’t have as a child.
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Thanks for sharing your experience. Though my birthday was usually before school was out for summer, in high school I usually had finals on my birthday. I do think your attitude is quite positive.
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As a kid birthdays were a big deal… not so much now, but I still miss that from my youth. The only thing I tend to insist on is going out to dinner so I don’t have to cook. I am sorry you do not enjoy a lot of your day. Maybe you can concentrate more on the party you have there at the care home and then maybe the visits will not seem as stressful. Happy early birthday!
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Thanks so much for your supporitve comment. Yes, birthdays as a kid were a much bigger thing than they are now, but I’m happy about that.
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You’re welcome.
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I’m glad you like your birthday, I enjoy mine too especially since the past couple of years I’ve celebrated with family! X
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I’m glad you like spending your birthday with family. Thanks for sharing.
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my birthday is late june too. Ah yes family dynamics are such a pain!
sherry
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Thanks for your kind comment. Hope your birthday will be a good one.
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