When I say “everything” I’m not talking about material things, I’m talking about celebratory events. Birthdays, anniversaries, that sort of thing.
Case in Point
September is a big month for Wayne and I.
• Wayne’s birthday is September 7th
• My birthday is September 14th
• Our wedding anniversary is September 16th
• Murphy’s birthday (well, the day we got him) is September 23rd
How’d You Manage That?
Let me tell you, it was a complete fluke. All except for our anniversary. If we’d thought more about it, we might have picked a different day. As it was, we held one hand over our eyes while we used the other to randomly pick a date on the calendar.
So was getting Murphy. We did not plan to get a dog the day we went to the animal control shelter to “just look.” But there he was, this funny-looking spotted mess who intrigued us into picking him over all the others.
Is This a Good Thing?
I know other families who also have this same dilemma. Kids birthday’s aren’t very far apart, of maybe a child’s and parent’s birthdays are close. (My dad’s birthday is also in September, on the 20th. Growing up he used to tell me I was his early birthday gift. Nowadays I tell Murph he was Wayne and I’s late birthday and anniversary present.) Sometimes birthdays also fall on or near holidays, like Christmas. (My sister happens to be a December baby, but luckily it’s about two weeks before that so we’ve always celebrated her birthday and Christmas separately.)
For kids who sometimes have to combine celebrations this might not be such a good thing. But for Wayne and I? It rocks!
Why It Work For Us
I know some women complain their husband never remembers their birthday or anniversary. Wayne never forgets it. It’s impossible for him to. He loves the fact that everything’s all together.
So do I. Not that we make a huge hoopla out of either our birthdays or anniversary, but we do enjoy celebrating each other in our own special ways. This year was sort of a tricky one because we’ve had to be separated so much, but it also ended up being one of the best. Because time together is so precious we savored our birthday weekends together, and giving each other the joint Wii gift has lead to hours of, well, “we” time when we do see each other.
Friends and family have also told us it makes it easier on them too. Sometimes they forget whose birthday comes first, but they always remember everything happens close together.
Dear Reader,
Does your family have birthdays and/or anniversaries all at once? Or around holidays? How do you feel about that? Like it? Not? How do you manage celebratory festivities?