My birthday was Sunday and our youngest celebrates his birthday 2 days after mine.
I LOVE celebrating my friends and family. Planning a special dinner or activity for another person is immensely gratifying to me. I feel so lucky that I get to share a birthday week with my child! But, I also feel like my personal birthday expectations can be too high; 'Why did this person who I care about not text me?' ' Why didn't my family know exactly what I wanted for a gift?' 'How come I had to plan XYZ for myself?'
One of the best things I learned in college is "The best way to have your expectations met is to lower your expectations."
As a kid, our birthdays were typically low-key; special dinner of birthee's choice, gifts at the end of the day, some kind of family activity, and an occasional backyard birthday party with friends. I had a few exceptionally planned parties, but the most extravagant was, at the core, still just friends being together. I try to remember that for my own kids. The night before (!) my son's birthday, I texted a handful of friends and we met up at the farm to explore and have cupcakes afterwards. no presents. no expectations for anything but a short burst of time together. It was perfect! He felt loved, we had fun, everyone got a sugar kick. And I got to see my own friends who were coerced into wishing me a happy birthday too. ;)
My birthday was Sunday and our youngest celebrates his birthday 2 days after mine.
I LOVE celebrating my friends and family. Planning a special dinner or activity for another person is immensely gratifying to me. I feel so lucky that I get to share a birthday week with my child! But, I also feel like my personal birthday expectations can be too high; 'Why did this person who I care about not text me?' ' Why didn't my family know exactly what I wanted for a gift?' 'How come I had to plan XYZ for myself?'
One of the best things I learned in college is "The best way to have your expectations met is to lower your expectations."
As a kid, our birthdays were typically low-key; special dinner of birthee's choice, gifts at the end of the day, some kind of family activity, and an occasional backyard birthday party with friends. I had a few exceptionally planned parties, but the most extravagant was, at the core, still just friends being together. I try to remember that for my own kids. The night before (!) my son's birthday, I texted a handful of friends and we met up at the farm to explore and have cupcakes afterwards. no presents. no expectations for anything but a short burst of time together. It was perfect! He felt loved, we had fun, everyone got a sugar kick. And I got to see my own friends who were coerced into wishing me a happy birthday too. ;)