Birthdays

We have a birthday coming up, and are of course searching for the perfect thing to do. A party is not in our future, been there done that, and if she really wanted one, we'd probably do it, but it really doesn't seem to be her thing. We had one for a couple of years back, and besides the rigmarole of organizing it, she seemed overwhelmed and ambivalent about it, even though by neurotic parental standards, it was a success. Personally, I'd like to go to NYC and see the cousins and hit the town. I know she'd love it, but in the end, we'll let her decide. I still have to talk to Sam and order the cake.

We have mixed feelings about the whole inundation with gifts approach, as well. We run into the same problem at Christmas, and feel it's misguided, especially with the current economic climate, to go out and buy all this junk, even though the kids love it. One or two special presents makes it so much more meaningful, not to mention manageable, and when it becomes about quantity, the whole spirit of gift giving is lost. In the end, we don't like the approach of ripping through a pile of gifts and tossing them aside to open the next one, even if we can see how much fun it can be. Somehow it just feeds the frenzy of wanting more. And believe you me, even though we live in a down-to-earth community surrounded by people who might think like us, we still see plenty kids who seem to live in households where restraint is not employed. It's pretty impressive, actually.

We'll ponder this one. Not a big deal, in the end. Besides, we also believe that life isn't about the single moments or holidays, but about everyday. So every day should be celebrated like a birthday... sort of.

On the subject of birthdays, I have a bit of a dilemma in terms of my brother. I have real issues with the guys, he's a selfish and completely self-absorbed person who also happens to be a pathological liar, to the point where he really needs professional help. Even still, I've always remembered him on his birthday and during the holidays, even in lieu of him completely blowing us off on all of our special occasions. Now I don't care if he ignores my birthday, but when he blows off our kids, then it irks me. Then again, maybe that's his way of getting to me.

My point is, I blew him off on his most recent birthday, which was a couple of weeks ago, and now I sort of regret it. Two wrongs don't make a right, right? So I'll send him a belated greeting, even though every fiber in my body says "Don't do it." In the end, you should always do the right thing that is inline your own philosophies, rather than taking the eye-for-an-eye approach. Where does that get us, in the end?

Until then, thanks for reading.