Monday, September 14, 2009

Half Birthdays: An excuse to celebrate!


I'm taking a break from my obsession with decluttering and organizing to brag about my wonderful hubby! He has to hear...more often than not...when he does something wrong so I figured when he does something right, I should definitely point it out! All women know, it's kind of like when your children do something right, you praise them to encourage positive behavior...husbands are the same way. It's easy to forget to notice the small stuff with all the focus on the little ones!

Somehow in my childhood, half birthdays were created and adopted. It's a wonderful concept; however, at almost thirty, I am definitely the only one out of my family that still celebrate them (Well, my mom will sneak us a gift and use our half birthdays as an excuse!) and probably one of the only adults still celebrating them! I love them though...honestly, probably more than my regular birthday! My real birthday is in the midst of our anniversary, valentines day and several other family members birthdays. I'm usually too tired to enjoy it and celebrate it! My half birthday though is in the beginning of fall...right when all the holidays are just about to start, but still before the stress and chaos. The air and excitement of fall and a new season is just within reach. Plus, it is such a great pick me up to get a cake, a small present, and to feel special on a random, unexpected day!

I encourage you to find any excuse to celebrate life. We usually don't even realize all of our missed opportunities to celebrate life until we are faced with a tragic end of it....don't wait until then! Half birthdays are especially great if you have a summer birthday and miss out on having a special day during the school year. What about those December birthdays? How wonderful would it be to have a special day that you don't have to share with the chaos and stress of the holiday season. Even if only you celebrate your special day, it's still worth it. Reward yourself with a special treat and do something special.

Despite his skepticism in the beginning of our dating relationship, my husband has embraced the half birthdays...at least for his three girls. He made mine very special (without reminders I might add). He brought me beautiful sunflowers, a chocolate and strawberry cake, and I treated myself to a couple new books! Regardless if you embrace the idea of a half birthday...an opportunity to eat cake and get surprises, can't be all that bad! So, check the calendar and find an excuse to celebrate and make a memory!

Mama Drama Rule #38: Never stop celebrating birthdays...getting older is much better than the alternative!

3 comments:

Bethany said...

I love this concept! I"m not sure why I never adopted it myself since we used to do it for my students who had summer birthdays! Mine gets lost in February too. We have my birthday on the 2nd, anniversary on the 12th, and then Valentine's day on the 14th. When is yours?

Tammy said...

You so should adopt it...you missed yours this year so you need to find another excuse! It all happens right around the time we start to recover from the holidays! It's all a blur even if I really plan ahead for it! Robert's is the 2nd of Feb., our anniversary is the 15th, valentine's day on the 14th...mine is Mar. 9th, my mom's is Mar. 13th, my brother's girlfriend which has been around a long time:) is Mar. 24th, my nephew's is Mar. 19th and LaLa's is Mar. 27th...throw in Easter & Feb. break off school and it's just a circus around here for Feb. and March!

Bethany said...

I'll definitely suggest it to Tim for next year...heck, maybe I'll even tell him we should start next week (celebrate late!!!). :)