I recently had a birthday and this one was different than the many others that I have had. I normally look forward to my birthdays, but as I grow older, I look forward to them less and less. I used to have a very narcissistic view of my birthday and liked that it was all about me, me me! This year as my birthday approached, I felt that doom of missing all that I wanted to achieve by this point in my life and forgot to look at the accomplishments. I started to realize that this year was not going to be all about me and that frankly people did not care as much as I did. Shamefully, I have to admit that I was pretty bummed.
A couple of days before though, I decided to make my birthday not about me at all, but rather to make it about appreciating the people in my life that have made it what it is.
When I worked at On Board, the head guy there, Brian, used to bring in doughnuts and such for everyone on his birthday. He said that it was a custom that he picked up in Germany, but regardless of where it came from, the idea stuck with me. On the morning of my birthday I brought in three dozen breakfast tacos for my co-workers. It was a simple way to say thanks and many were confused by the gesture, but everyone seemed happy (I mean come on, free tacos!). I left work early and spent lunch and the early afternoon with my mother, since she did give birth to me. While we were out I picked up Jenga and another game to play that evening with my niece and nephew that were visiting.
After hanging out with my mom, I headed home where I was surprised by my wonderful wife with an amazing gift and the customary cookie completely covered in chocolate from the Great American Cookie Company (the place at the mall). That was pretty awesome! That evening, I played games and hung out with Kasey and her sister's family. Ok, I did play a little Playstation too, but only a little and with my nephew.
I did not get to see everyone that I wanted to on that one day and even if I did, I could not do justice to that amount of time, so over the course of the next year, I am going to try to make a point to spend more time with the people that really MAKE my life, the ones who change me just by being a part of it. And hey, if I don't get to you, don't take it personally, I probably just forgot that this was even my plan. (ha ha)
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