Birthday Reflections - How Wise Then

I recently had another birthday. The number is unlisted, less out of vanity and more out of the reality that nasty people harvest such information against me.

Suffice it to say, I’ve had more birthdays than either of my parents and one of my grandparents. Everyone has birthdays, and most are fairly routine events. Birthdays are funny things. As a child, I eagerly anticipated the day it would take two digits to record my age. Then I was excited to add “teen” to my age because that was the year I was finally allowed to add jeans to my wardrobe. Sixteen was sweet primarily because I could get a learner’s permit and, shortly after that, a driver’s license. That brought a whole new level of personal freedom, such as when I could use the family car. It happened now and then, but almost always with the obligation to do some errand while I was out in it.

Milestones

Eighteen was a very big deal because it meant I could legally buy 3.2 beer. My college friends and I drank gallons of it, referring to as as near-bear. Now eighteen means a young person can vote and it is encouraging to see how many claim their voter registration card with the same or greater enthusiasm than a driver’s license.

I celebrated my 21st birthday while working at Cedar Point along Lake Erie. I don’t recall any special celebrations, but no doubt drinking my first full strength, legally obtained beer was part of it. We used to check out a local pub/dance hall in town after the park closed.

Odometer Birthdays

I suppose I’ve repressed turning 30. I have recollections of friend Mary Jo getting her hands on a forged Medicare card to present as her contribution to the cause. Revenge is sweet. We celebrated her 30th on her 29th birthday and all evening she insisted to those gathered that she was only 29. Really.

What is it about turning 30? It’s still actually quite young given the average life span. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the U.S. life expectancy today is is 77.5 years; 74.8 for men and 80.2 for women. US life expectancy nearly doubled from 1900 to the present. Then it was only 47 years.

After 30, the birthdays come and go with not much fanfare except for the odometer ones when the dial of life comes to another “0” – as in “Over the Hill” 40, nifty fifty, and so on. Somewhere I probably still have the card my oh-so-clever daughter gave me with the line, “Lordy, Lordy, Mommy’s Forty” sentiment. That was a major turning point for more than reaching the crest of that mythical hill. That summer I was ordained and started life as a pastor, making my husband a PS – pastor’s spouse, and our daughters PK’s – pastor’s kids.

Slipping and Sliding Down the Hill

By fifty I was a couple of months into my new position as director of a summer youth camp. With my husband’s encouragement, the entire summer staff made enormous poster boards with empathy candy wrappers declaring their assessment of what life must be like for such an old person. They were creative. I’ll give them that.

By sixty I was single again and taking an inventory on the pros and cons of my current circumstances.

When the big Seven-O was fast approaching I initially hoped to gather the whole clan, which by then consisted of two daughters and their six nearly grown children and other folks included in the family head count. I soon realized that was a bit much for even this party-loving extrovert to pull off. I settled for having both daughters to myself for a few glorious days. One of the best birthdays ever. We had so much fun we did a summer rerun when I hit the three-quarter century mark. It included horseback riding, a walk in a tree top challenge course consisting of swinging bridges and a trampoline of sorts, and some serious wine-sampling.

In Conclusion

These days I look forward as much to celebrating other people’s birthdays as my own, Sure, it’s fun to be acknowledged, but it’s even more fun to be in on plans and plots to celebrate other people’s milestone birthdays.

Mostly I’m grateful, and honestly a bit surprised, that I’m still here. I’ve been privileged to know mostly good health, wonderful friends, exciting jobs, and more travel than I ever imagined. And family. Though we are scattered across the land, we manage to gather frequently to retell favorite family stories, make horrible puns, and gather strength and encouragement from the bonds that connect across the miles and through the years.

I’ve been given a few extra yards on the bolt of fabric of my life. Each day is a new opportunity to decide what I shall make from it.

How about you – what have been some of your most memorable birthdays?

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Share it with a friend or sign up for your own free subscription at HowWiseThen. I will not sell your information.