Birthday revelations

Happy Birthday to you

So I recently celebrated my 24th birthday. A year away from a quarter century. The past few years I've noticed that birthdays have become less exciting and I couldn't quite figure out why.

But it has to be more than just aging, not having an age milestone (16, 18, 21,) to achieve. It's also not always having to check in with yourself and take account of what you've accomplished the past 365 days. There has to be a little something more. As I move further away from 18 I've become more aware of this, and last night I finally figured it out.

It has to do with the celebration of your birth by loved ones. Think on it now, but when you get together with your family, it becomes a recount of your life. I love my family and they love me. On birthday's they always talk about memories of me that have made an impact on their lives. My mom tells me when she went into labor, how my father held me for the first time. My father recounts that I was rarely disciplined. My grandmother, "what a handsome boy you were," (though she does add, and still is.) I didn't take to potty training well, and lo Cory always used to run around naked. "He was such an excellent sleeper."

The point: It's not a birthday celebration...it's a eulogy! There is no promise for the future or what I will be doing, it's what I have done. Since I was the bday boy I felt out of place to disrupt the "ceremonies," so I still sort of felt like I wasn't there, thus furthering the eulogy notion. Now if this should ever befall the eyes of my loved ones, please do not take it as a complaint, as I love all of you deeply. I'm merely exploring why people have disdain for birthdays after a certain point in time. Eulogies. Sigh. 25 here I come.