My kids get excited whoever’s birthday it is: They want banners, balloons and numerically accurate candles adorning several cakes, no matter the years being represented. Why do we stop marking our birthdays with such mindfulness and appreciation of the present? Why as adults do we often look backwards to how young we have been or forward to how old we’re getting, rather than celebrating a year of good times or a day celebrating being alive, orbits of the sun completed and all?
I want my kids to celebrate living in the moment. Wistfulness or terror of ageing has no place in our birthday celebrations, which can be a week-long event. This year involved chocolates, flowers, slippers, books and a telescope, sunny forest days, geocaching, picnicking and doughnuts. I am 36 years old and I am celebrating!
