Elizabeth smiling, wearing a pink scarf, in her dining room with a coconut cake and plenty of birthday candles in front of her last year.
It is not my birthday. I mean, it was in the photo above, but this week I’m coming off of celebrations for my daughter’s 12th birthday which has me thinking about how we celebrate birthdays. Early June birthdays usually mean we are in the final sighs of the school year. So while she wasn’t keen on going to school on her special day, I promised cupcakes for a classroom celebration and that did the trick.
My own mid-March birthday means when I was a kid, my birthday fell close to Easter, Passover or Spring Break. 90% of the time I wasn’t in school. Today, I never work on my birthday. I write but I take the day off from my part time job. I often do a little shopping and spend time somewhere outside my usually path for coffee and pastry, with a book or my laptop. I believe in pretty candles and special cakes so a cake I didn’t make (after a dinner I didn’t organize) happens at the end of the day. And gifts! Most of my days are focused on someone (or multiple someones) or some thing else so my birthday is a chance to center my thoughts on the Elizabeth I know myself to be.
What about you? How do you celebrate your birthday?
Ever since my mom passed, my birthday hasn't been the same. My mother always made my sisters and I whatever type of cake we wanted. One year she made me a giant heart-shaped cake since my birthday is very close to Valentine's Day. Since I've been with my husband, his family's tradition is now mine. The person celebrating picks whatever restaurant and we go out to dinner. Mostly, I just want an excuse to eat and/or bake a cake. Now that my son is a bit older, my husband and I have decided we will be celebrating with experiences. Last year we took him to NYC to see a couple of Broadway shows. His birthday is around Christmas-time, and what's better than Christmas in NY?! I don't know what we will do next year. We started this experiences tradition with quite the bang!
Oh Gloria! The loss of a parent is the wound that never quite heals. There's always something like a family tradition to tear it back open again. I'm glad you've pivoted to experiences from your husband's tradition though! That feels a little more centered around who the person is as opposed to a "go along, to get along," habit. And nope- NYC at Christmas is FAB! <3
Oh, I go all out on my birthday. In my opinion, birthdays are a day to reflect and also to celebrate the fact that you're alive and that you've made it through the tough days of that year as well as the joyful ones.
I love variety, so I celebrate differently each year. Back when I worked a regular 9-5 I'd take the day off, but now that I love my work so much usually I'll work that day, as long as I make sure I have a birthday lunch planned, usually with a friend.
I don't think we make a big enough deal of the people in our lives, generally, and I also don't think that adults have enough play and wonder in their day to day lives, so I always have a party, even when I feel "too old" to throw a birthday party for myself.
My husband always bakes me the cake or pie of my choice. So far we've celebrated with carrot cake, boston cream pie, and various fruit pies. It's always sweet!
Ever since my mom passed, my birthday hasn't been the same. My mother always made my sisters and I whatever type of cake we wanted. One year she made me a giant heart-shaped cake since my birthday is very close to Valentine's Day. Since I've been with my husband, his family's tradition is now mine. The person celebrating picks whatever restaurant and we go out to dinner. Mostly, I just want an excuse to eat and/or bake a cake. Now that my son is a bit older, my husband and I have decided we will be celebrating with experiences. Last year we took him to NYC to see a couple of Broadway shows. His birthday is around Christmas-time, and what's better than Christmas in NY?! I don't know what we will do next year. We started this experiences tradition with quite the bang!
Oh Gloria! The loss of a parent is the wound that never quite heals. There's always something like a family tradition to tear it back open again. I'm glad you've pivoted to experiences from your husband's tradition though! That feels a little more centered around who the person is as opposed to a "go along, to get along," habit. And nope- NYC at Christmas is FAB! <3
Oh, I go all out on my birthday. In my opinion, birthdays are a day to reflect and also to celebrate the fact that you're alive and that you've made it through the tough days of that year as well as the joyful ones.
I love variety, so I celebrate differently each year. Back when I worked a regular 9-5 I'd take the day off, but now that I love my work so much usually I'll work that day, as long as I make sure I have a birthday lunch planned, usually with a friend.
I don't think we make a big enough deal of the people in our lives, generally, and I also don't think that adults have enough play and wonder in their day to day lives, so I always have a party, even when I feel "too old" to throw a birthday party for myself.
My husband always bakes me the cake or pie of my choice. So far we've celebrated with carrot cake, boston cream pie, and various fruit pies. It's always sweet!
LOVE this, Allison! And yes, agree that we don't make a big enough deal of the people in our lives. Amen to that! More celebrations and fun, please.