Birthdays

[diggitydot]

Birthdays aren't a big deal to me. I actually prefer that no one makes them a big deal, either. I get weirded out by large public displays, anyway. Being the subject of one would set my teeth on edge.

[Ladybug]

I enjoy going to parties, but I've never hosted one for myself. This year I'm turning forty and my birthday always falls around MLK weekend. I want to invite a couple of families to book a hotel at a ski resort for the weekend, and we'd host a dinner out one night. It would be fun way to make some good memories for everyone.

[Michele]

I like parties and being fussed over. But I haven't had a non-immediate-family birthday celebration since my 21st. I tend to build them up and be let down when they are over. And I reassess the year and where I'm at. 34 on Wednesday.

[spaz]

I wish people would make a big deal about my birthday. I'm 47. I also haven't had a party since I was 16. I threw a surprise party for my husband when he turned 30. He liked it fine. I mainly invited family and close friends.. I doubt he'll do anything for my 50th and I doubt I'll do anything for his because he doesn't seem to care about parties.

My age isn't a big deal other than I feel like I am frantically running out of time to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. My late 30's through mid 40's have been spent taking care of people. I am now learning how to take care of myself. I like being my age most of the time. My memory just can't keep up, however. My husband has aged noticeably over the last few years...my son was just talking to me about how old and tired he looks and I agree. So far when people guess my age they say early 30's and can't believe I have children that have left the nest.

[samssugarmomma]

I just did some quick math and I'm turning 36 in a few weeks.

In my 20s I thought that 35 was old and that my life would be over. Lol. Now, I don't really care.... I feel like I'm getting more comfortable with myself and trying to figure out who I really am. Sometimes I get sad that I've 'wasted' so much of my life being overweight, (still have about 60 lbs to lose) but I'm enjoying the process of discovering who I really am. I hope that by 37 I'll at least be at a healthy weight.

[LadyFoot]

No issues with birthdays for me. I'm 45 and don't feel "old" or "young", I feel like me.

Age is simply a number, being "old" is in your head.

This! My mom has always told me this same thing. She's taught me to enjoy whatever stage I'm in. I love undergrad 5 years ago, but I don't really want to go back now. Right now I'm "enjoying" (there's probably a better word for this, because it's not like I love puking...) my first pregnancy and in 10 years I'm sure I'll look back on it fondly and be glad that my kids are now old enough to put on their own clothes and take care of their own toilet habits.

On a different note, I went to the websites of a bunch of restaurants in my area and signed up for their email/birthday clubs last night. Between their sign up specials and birthday specials, I now have enough free meals/treats to eat somewhere for free almost every day for the next two weeks! Even though I'll have to go by myself most of the time, I'm looking forward to getting to know some of the restaurants in this area I've never been to before. Happy birthday to me.

[KlynK]

I enjoy celebrating birthdays, including my own, though I would not set up any celebrations for myself. DH tends to not go all out so meh. I still don't feel my age. I'll be 29 in a couple weeks and feel like I should still be like 24. I don't know if that's because we still aren't really "settled" down or what but its weird to me that I'm almost 30. It sounds a lot older than I feel, which I guess is good :P

[rainbabies]

I'll be 37 in a couple weeks. I feel better physically now, than I did in my earlier 30's. People assume I'm 30-32 so I guess I "look" okay.
For bday celebration...the kids usually make me a card and or gift. Dh and I go out to dinner. I've never had a big bday party that I can remember...I'm ok with that. I don't like being fawned over or the center of attention. It's very uncomfortable for me.

[houseelf]

Birthdays...meh. I tend to think they are overdone. I enjoy my kids birthdays more. It reminds me of the happiest three days of my life.

40 challenged me a bit. Not because it felt old but because I felt like I really needed to have all my shit together at 40. It seemed so definitive. I've kind of come to peace with the fact that it is a journey. If we are doing it right, we should always be learning and growing. There is no final resting point other than death.