As you get older, some things become less and less sacred.
You realise the Tooth Fairy isn’t real when you catch one of your parents sneaking in to collect the tooth and drop off 20p. (It was the 80s. Kids in the class I used to teach get a quid now. Inflation at work!)
You realise Santa isn’t real. (I don’t remember how this happened.)
You realise the Easter Bunny isn’t real.
You start to care less about “big” annual events like Christmas and Easter. Especially given that the shops start selling crap for each of them earlier and earlier each year.
In short, things start to matter less. But for me, one thing which will always be absolutely sacrosanct is one’s birthday. Your birthday is a day when you should be immune to all harm, be it physical or mental. Of course, in reality it’s a day just like any other, but to me, something always feels special about my birthday, and I always respect this feeling towards other people too. I feel particularly sorry for people who have bad things happen to them on their birthdays. I’d feel sorry for them anyway, but to me, having something terrible happen on your birthday just seems like kicking someone when they’re down.
I’m also firmly in favour of people not having to work on their birthdays. Like a personal Bank Holiday, if you will. It’s your day, it should be yours to do with as you please.
But unfortunately, the world doesn’t quite work like that. Other people don’t care that you’re a year older. In fact, most people don’t even know that you’re a year older, as one of the things that ceases to happen as you get older is the wearing of badges to helpfully inform those around you that “I AM 6”. And so when something doesn’t go your way on your birthday it feels like an enormous injustice has taken place.
Fortunately, that hasn’t happened today. It’s been a pretty quiet one for me. I wrote a few articles, drank some coffee, ate some cake and then went to see some friends and try out new board game Mystery Express, a Murder on the Orient Express-style deduction game. We didn’t get time to finish the whole game before some people had to leave and head bedwards (the perils of having a regular day job) but we got a good grasp of the rules and it seems like an interesting game. I’m looking forward to giving it a proper try sometime when we have a bit more time to spare.
So, I’m 29. So far it doesn’t feel that different. I wonder if next year will feel different. 30 feels like it should be some sort of milestone, but at the moment I feel rather like I’m drifting and haven’t found my true path yet. Well, as it stands, I have 364 days left to get that sorted. That’s doable, right?
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When you’re 30 it feels like a big number. Then you look back a few years later and realise that you still retained a measure of youthfulness in your early 30s and suddenly that number was just arithmetic with surprisingly little real impact.
Around 40 or shortly thereafter you finally realise you have actually matured beyond youth into adulthood whether you like it or not (I’m talking here of biology, not psychology/emotion). By this time your body has started to creak a bit, middle age beckons and mortality starts to sit on your shoulder, whispering into your ear. That’s when the numbers really start to add up in my experience. So I’d say you’ve got plenty of time Pete. Just don’t panic and always keep your towel handy. 🙂
Belated happy birthday 😀
I’m another who sees birthdays as quite sacred 🙂
I was still really ill at 30 and only about three people from my immediate family even remembered it was my birthday. So… not so much with the fanfares and celebrations, heh. 35, on the other hand, was a biggie. Don’t know why. Apparently my mum was exactly the same way.
Point is… yay birthdays! Totally agree they should be totally sacred. Folk either seem to really do birthdays or really not. I’m very much the former.
I am not that bothered about birthdays. I think that they are a bit like New Year’s Eve, always underwhelming. Having said that, I like the fact that other people still get excited by their birthdays and I view our difference as my failing, not yours. For me it’s easier not to hope for too much and not be disappointed than to get worked up and feel let down.
I hope your birthday evening wasn’t an anticlimax. You hit the nail on the head with the day job comment. In an ideal world everyone would get their birthday and the following day off work, and would be able to excuse 5 friends from attending work on those days too. What a system that would be.