Year 29 Starts...Now

I was talking to my brother last week. His birthday is a little less than a week before mine, and I asked if he had done anything to celebrate the day. But even as I asked him, I already knew that the answer would be no, that he hadn't really told anyone, that the older he gets, the more it kind of becomes just another day.

He's not the first person I've heard this from, and when people say, "you know how it is," I don't quite know how to respond. That's the cue to nod and agree, and maybe elaborate on the sentiment that birthdays really aren't that important or exciting once you reach a certain age. But I can't do that, because honestly, I can't relate to the sentiment, and I don't seem to have reached that certain age yet, and I'm not entirely convinced I ever will.

I have to confess that I really, really like my birthdays. And even though, as a general rule, I prefer not to call too much attention to myself, I really, really like it when people make a fuss about my birthday. If you have heard me subtly dropping references to my birthday into casual conversation for the last few weeks, trust me, it was entirely intentional. It doesn't have to be big or extravagant. I don't even need gifts or a party. I just like the birthday attention. You know, Facebook wall posts, in-person happy birthday wishes. Okay, and maybe a few cards or gifts and some kind of birthday celebration or another.

My love for my own birthday is entirely self-centered. I know this. But I also think everyone else deserves just as much fuss and attention on their birthdays. When someone shrugs off their birthday and says they're not really going to do anything for it, and that it's no big deal, I have a very hard time believing them. Even if they think they think it's no big deal, deep down inside in some secret little place within themselves they must care. And more than just a little bit. How could your birthday not be a big deal? It's the one day out of the year that you can demand people to pay attention to you and the wonderful person you are and how happy they are that you were born, and you can do all this without overstepping the bounds of social dignity.

This year I turn 29. I consider it a significant birthday because it's the last year that I will be able to say I am twenty-anything. Which means 30 will be a significant birthday, too. Actually, most of them have been significant in some way. There have been a few sort of obscure ages, like 22, 23, and 26, or 9, 11, and 19. Not that any of those were bad years. I don't think I've ever looked back on a year and thought, wow, glad that one's over, or looked at the year to come and thought, gee, I'm really not looking forward to this. It's just that as far as ages go, they didn't seem particularly shiny or special. If it weren't for the almost-out-of-my-twenties part, 29 might feel a bit obscure too. And it has the potential to be intimidating (I'm twenty-nine! That's almost thirty!), but fortunately I think I kind of got that out of my system with 28, and I can face 29 with no trepidation, and even some enthusiasm.

My 29th birthday is already looking good. I feel like I've sufficiently publicized, but not overpublicized, my birthday so that I will get a satisfactory number of birthday wishes. My roommate is taking me to lunch, and I'm going out for ice cream with friends later in the evening. I have no classes to teach or meetings to attend. I've already received a few birthday gifts. And I have several great birthday gifts in the works from non-standard sources. Get ready for an overuse of exclamation points.

From God, or Mother Nature, or possibly Jessica:

57 degree weather! In Ann Arbor! In the middle of February! And 10 days ago when I started checking the weather forecast, it wasn't even supposed to get above freezing!

From Stucchi's:

Free ice cream! (Well, with purchase of a second scoop of ice cream, but that's what I have friends for.) (Oops. I mean, That's what I have friends for!)

From Noodles & Co.:

A free bowl of noodles! No purchase necessary! Anytime this week! I love getting free stuff on my birthday!

And last, but far from least, from the School of Education:

Advancement to candidacy! At last! You may have thought I was a doctoral candidate, given that I passed my prelims and have no classes and I am working on my dissertation, but that's where you would have been wrong. Until now! Well, not officially quite yet, but the paperwork has finally been put into process! Hooray!

Oh, and I think a really great birthday gift to me would be for lots and lots of people to comment on my blog. Like at least five. Today, I feel completely entitled to ask for that :).