Wildfalcon

Birthdays are strange things, the more you have the more you try and pretend they don’t matter, and the more people try and tell you they are not so bad. I’m not really sure why it is that people think they are bad things, Its true, you are getting older, but as someone just said to me “who isn’t getting older every day?” -  I think the problem people associate with birthdays has more to do with the fact that a birthday throws into sharp focus all the things they think they should have done, but have not . I certainly understand that feeling, though I think it’s more a way of clarifying the things that I have not yet done, that I most want to do - a kind of personal re-ordering of the to-do list. They only need to be depressed is if on your birthday you realised that your re-ordered to-do list is exactly the same as it was last year. That leaves you with a feeling of having accomplished nothing, and not going anywhere. I’m fortunate enough to have not had that experience this year. I look back at where I was last year and look at the fundamental things that have changed since then:

• I have finished my PhD and become a Doctor (yay)
• I have found a job, and it’s even one I enjoy (double yay)
• I have a great new flat, (triple yay – at least when the roof stops leaking)

Now I feel that the social pressure is on me to go into a few days of depression, and decide what is crap with my life now, but to be honest, I can’t really be bothered. Instead I think I will go and have a nice hot drink, maybe some ice-cream and think about the highlights of my great birthday:

• I got waylaid by the sales team at work singing happy birthday before dragging me to the pub for a liquid lunch
• I came up with a solid plan for what to do next in my job (ok, not a birthday thing, but gratifying anyway)
• I got dragged to the pub again after work (not just sales people this time)
• My entire dance class sang happy birthday at me, and my ballroom partner even sorted a cake for me (apparently I am only one year old if we go by counting candles)
• I had a good dinner out with some friends

So as you can see, I can’t see much point in feeling depressed, though I might have a think about what I want to change in time for next year. In the meantime I’m going to go and put into practice my theory of celebrating not just a birthday, but an entire birth-month!

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