Birthdays are a big deal

It’s almost like you go backward in time as you age.

When you are a child and understand what a birthday is, you look forward to it. Being another year older is a good thing. You proudly tack a “half” onto your age as soon as you realize this is a possibility. Until you are an adult, you are striving to be older.

It probably helps that birthday parties are cool. You get cake, ice cream and presents, and everybody makes a big deal out of our day.

After you’re 21, there really isn’t another magic number you’re trying to reach. So you kind of coast. Once you hit adulthood, the appeal for birthdays slows. Birthdays might be a time to celebrate, maybe you go out with friends. Your parents and close friends might still send a card or gift, but most of your birthday wishes are just that. Parties aren’t a big deal unless you’re hitting a milestone and someone throws you a surprise party.

Most birthdays just pass you by until one day you realize you’re getting older and you can’t do anything about it. You can lie about your age, but someone, somewhere will know the truth. And at some point, you’ll probably look your age, too.

You probably don’t even have a party. If not for Facebook, would anyone even know it’s your special day?

And then something beautiful happens. Birthdays get to be a big deal. People who are lucky enough to reach older adulthood tend to look forward to their birthdays. They are proud to tell you exactly how old they are, the year they were born and probably anything else you’d like to know about their lives.

Maybe it’s because you start to have birthday parties again, with cake, candles, singing and cards. Maybe you’ll even get a gift or two and lots of good wishes.

You can go back to your childhood, when birthdays were fun and you couldn’t wait until the next one. That’s the way birthdays are at Hilltop. It’s a special day to celebrate. Here’s to the next one!

Lucille celebrates 96 years with a special birthday cake.