Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m just a buzzkill.
I recently had a birthday. I got grief for not making a big deal out of this. It wasn’t a big, round number- I turned 52. Not a big deal. I honestly forgot about it until the night before.
No, I’m not trying to deny I’m getting older. It’s obvious when I look in mirror. It’s obvious when I get out of bed every morning. It’s obvious when I have conversations with some of my (much) younger coworkers.
No, I’m not trying to make myself look like some kind of selfless martyr. I really enjoyed the cookies my coworker made me and it’s fun to have people wish you a happy day and make you feel special!
But you will never find me posting on social media that is it my “birthday month” and that I am “accepting gifts” all month long. You won’t find me taking the day off from work every year. Full disclosure- I AM taking the day after my birthday off this year, but for unrelated reasons. I just don’t make that big of a deal out of my birthday most of the time.
Am I the weird one? Am I manifesting self esteem issues or childhood trauma because I don’t make a monumental event of my day of birth? I told someone that I had forgotten about my birthday and it was obvious from the look on her face she thought I was lying, but I wasn’t! It just slipped my mind.
What do you think? Are birthdays a big deal to you as an adult? Am I missing something here? What do you do for yourself on your day?