When people have to celebrate you, it's the most wonderful time of the year.
By Owen Panettieri (playwright, lyricist)
There are people who don't like celebrating their birthdays. They don't like the attention, they don't like the fuss and they don't like the fuss, and they don't like being reminded they've gotten a year older. I am not one of those people. I love celebrating my birthday. Like Brenda Lee used to sing about a Marshmallow World, "I wait for it the whole year 'round." I think taking time to celebrate yourself is so important, and Birthday Time is a perfect excuse to do so. This is your time!
This year I turn 37. My early late 30's! The funny thing is I thought I was 37 for almost the entire year already. Whenever I had to fill in my age on a form or survey I would always say 37 and remember that was not right. So now with this birthday, I know I'm STILL 37 so it's like I haven't aged at all! It's like I have a Day Light Savings Birthday this year, where I fall back to the age I thought I previously was! That's the best present of all!
Some people don't think it's some big accomplishment to celebrate having survived another year, but I fervently disagree. There were approximately 80 million things lurking around every corner waiting to kill you and nothing succeeded i doing so! That's a miracle! That deserves cake with your name on it and presents and as many Facebook posts marking the occasion from friends, family members and the most distant of online connections as you can possibly scroll through. Good on your for living!
Now if a big party is not your thing on your birthday, I can feel you on that. Parties take a lot of planning. You have to worry about who to invite and if people will come. If your birthday lands on or around a big holiday then you have to compete with all that, and who should compete for attention on their birthday? (Twins, I guess? Poor twins!). I usually love hosting a birthday party, but I'm neck deep in rehearsals for my next play - A Burial Place, and my time and energy needs to go there. I think I'll host a small gathering once the show opens. Plus, this year my birthday falls on a Wednesday, which admittedly isn't as fun as if it fell on the weekend, when it would feel like not having to go in to work was its own special present. But mid-week birthdays are perfect for invoking the Rule of the Birthday Week where you can spread the joy and festivities out over (at least) seven days, ensuring you eventually get to celebrate on a weekend day and have lots of fun getting there. It can be little things you add into your daily routine for yourself as mini-celebrations. Order your favorite thing for lunch on one day. Stay in and watch your favorite movie at home on another. Spend a happy hour with coworkers and then spend a night drunkenly texting with ALL your phone contacts. This is your Birthday Week and everyone is happy for you and will understand. They'll be drunk texting you back when it's their turn! .
I started feeling the buzz of Birthday Week on Sunday when i started eating the cake my dad made for me (peach cake! my favorite!) Tuesday I'm seeing Sia at Barclays' Center, On Wednesday, Birthday Proper, I have a special playlist picked out for the gym in the morning and play rehearsal at night. And then heading into the weekend, I'm going to follow where the adventures take me. Head into your next year with a sense of forward energy and fun, I say! And when it comes back around again, as we all hope it does, celebrate all you've done in that time. Birthdays are the best!
OWEN PANETTIERI is the author of the awarding-winning plays Vestments of the Gods and The Timing of a Day. Member of Playwrights Gallery in NYC. His new play, A Burial Place is playing NYC from november 3-19!! www.owenpanettieri.com
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