That year, I experience birthday anxiety. It has nothing to do with aging, the fusion of expectations, or anticipated disappointments. And the more people I talk to about birthdays, the more I realize that I am not the only one who feels unique about this day.
I think birthdays should inject steroids into humans.
There are remnants of foolishness for all the days I haven't planned this year. Today is my day. Certainly, today is a day I will cherish, and friends and family will send me messages and give me that loving warm fuzzy feeling.
And my birthday comes, and the world turns because for others it is just another day. Perhaps it will be my day of annual reckoning.
I admit that I am ashamed and embarrassed to acknowledge that I have used how people showed up for me on my birthday to judge my relationships. Those who remembered and sent me messages were my true friends, and those who forgot did not like or value me.
Of course, I get it. Birthdays are just a day, and life is busy. If social media doesn't remind us, we...