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My Turn
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From The Asian Reporter, V18, #12 (March 18, 2008), page 6.
Birthdays: A case of diminishing returns
It seems not so long ago that I celebrated my 30th birthday. I remember it fondly.
A surprise party. All my best friends and family in attendance. A beautiful cake. My lovely wife, presenting me with my favorite cake from my favorite bakery with several candles on top to mark the occasion. The opening of hand-picked presents from the people closest to me and the singing of "Happy Birthday" in a joyous celebration of this personal milestone.
Good times.
Fast forward 14 years. A few of the details have changed. Oh, I still have a beautiful wife, and there was a cake. But, as they say, the devil is in the details.
My birthday dinner plans were cobbled together in a couple of minutes the day before my birthday. On the day of the joyous event, my wife calls and tells me she doesn’t have time to buy any candles and asks me to pick some up on my way to my parent’s house.
Yes, you read that right. I must run out to buy candles for my own birthday cake.
Dinner goes well, and as always, our family enjoys opportunities to get together. For dessert, the birthday cake is brought out, and this year the cake is not the one from my favorite bakery, but is instead a store-bought cake from our local supermarket. I know this because the price sticker is still on the cellophane of the cake box, and in addition, I remember seeing the same cake earlier in the day as I was shopping for candles.
As the candles flicker on top of my ready-made cake, I prepare to blow them out. But before I do, my mother stops me and says we must not forget that my sister in law’s birthday is just a few days later and we are celebrating for her as well.
There is a slight pause as I wait to see if she would like to "bundle" any other milestones or holidays under the auspices of what is quickly becoming known as the "all encompassing celebratory cake" as I note that Groundhog Day is only a few weeks away.
While it may not be hard for any of you to pick up on the latent bitterness as I recall my last birthday celebration, the truth is that I found the change to be more funny than anything else. I don’t really have anything to complain about because I have a terrific wife and family.
Still, it’s not hard to extrapolate what lies ahead of me as I look ahead to my future birthday celebrations.
On my 50th birthday, all my friends and family will come to celebrate this major milestone in my life, topped off by a beautiful, homemade cake festooned with candles and other festive decorations. Of course, by that time I figure I’ll be the one baking the cake, so why not give it my all?
On my 60th birthday, we will most likely drop the whole "celebratory cake" thing and the formal celebration will entail me trying some of the free samples at Costco as I shop for my sister in law’s birthday cake.
They do sell candles there, right?