My birthday has been one of my favorite holidays -if not the favorite- my whole life. It appeals to the narcissist in me. A holiday all about me*? Love it!
May 1...does it sound as magical to you as it does to me?
But here's the thing. When May 1 rolls around, I maybe expect too much. I'm walking around corners, expecting people to burst into a fully choregraphed dance routine in my honor. Kind of like this scene from 500 Days of Summer:
I also expect May 1 to be a day when all problems are magically solved. Last year on May 1, I wrote that I fully expected to be done with this weight loss thing before turning 32. That didn't happen. May 1 is not as magical as I may have thought.
To most people, May 1 is just like any other day. It's just like March 13 or September 22 are to me. Regular old days. Also, it doesn't help that this year my birthday is on a Tuesday -quite possibly the most boring day of the week.
It is the work put in on these regular old days that add up to the magical day when I will be at a weight that I'm comfortable with and that is healthy for my body. I didn't make it by 32, and I may not make it by 33. But I'm going to keep trying. That's what I do. And each year that I am trying to improve myself is a year well spent.
For today, I'm not dwelling. Instead, I'm looking for ways to make what could be a boring Tuesday special. And I'm looking forward to dinner with some of my most favorite people on the planet, featuring some of my most favorite foods.
How do you feel about your birthday? Magical? Or just another day?
*And dancing around a May pole. But I never minded sharing May 1 with those Maypole dancers. It only makes it better.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I think it is very normal to have high expectations on your bday. Every year I hope it will be better than the last. That is getting very hard to top.
ReplyDeleteOh friend, I completely understand. I, too, have had unrealistic expectations on my birthday too. I used to hope people would plan some spectacular soiree that I would be completed surprised by and that just didn't happen. (I like to blame it on the fact that I'm basically one of the most intuitive people in the world and that others will just never be able to surprise me.)
ReplyDeleteBut, as I got older, on my 26th birthday to be exact, I realized that birthdays are the one day that you get to do exactly what YOU want to do with the people YOU want to be with and no one is going to balk or fault you.
So, for my 26th, I had a My Little Pony cookie cake and I DARED someone to say something about it.
Oh, yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
I, too, always have these big birthday hopes!
ReplyDeleteIt's tough when in my family we celebrate "birthday week" and my husband was raised in a family where birthdays are just another day - he might get a card if he were lucky!
On my 30th birthday I just knew it would be awesome and he'd find something amazing to mark the milestone. What did I get? Garden gloves and a garden spade - um, not awesome. So I went and bought myself awesome patio furniture.
I've realized he doesn't value birthdays like I do so I take charge and make it what I want (I ordered my own birthday cake over the phone last year and yes the bakery owner thought that was weird).
Long story short - it's your special day and enjoy every minute of it! Happy, happy birthday!
Jill, i hope you had an amazing birthday -even if it was on a Tuesday. I do the same thing - making promises to myself that I'll finally be at my goal weight by my birthday, etc...and then feel disappointed when I'm not there.But i think what you said about having every birthday reflect a year of hard work and of you becoming a better version of yourself is an awesome way to look at it. My birthday is in June - so I'm going to be borrowing this philosophy from you this year!
ReplyDeletep.s. Loved the video from 500 days of summer. Forgot about that one!