The Day of All Days

One day I’ll outgrow the idea of celebrating my birthday ... but not yet. Today, as I turn the big three-three, I still like making a big fuss about it. And more than that, I like having other people make a big fuss about it. It’s the one day of the year when I get to act like a 7 year old (at least officially) when it comes to looking for attention. I can eat cake and ice cream and all kinds of other stuff. I can wear a wrinkled shirt, or I can go to a restaurant and order steak tips or chicken fingers, and no one can make fun of me for it. I can sleep an extra 10 minutes if I want to. I can be totally insufferable about reminding people that it’s my birthday. After all, as my coworker Meghan said, "It's the day of all days." And perhaps I put too much of a value on my birthday, but it’s the one time when I take notes on who called, who e-mailed, who sent a card, who posted a comment on the blog, who wished me happy birthday in the office — and who didn’t do anything at all. It's almost as if my twisted mind thinks I'm entitled to such greetings — I am, aren't I? — because June 7 is my day and I deserve some attention for a change.

Of course, I do have to share the day. But at least I’m in decent company. Prince, Anna Kournikova, Dave Navarro, Liam Neeson, Paul Gaugin, Jessica Tandy, Tom Jones, and Michael Cera (from Arrested Development) — among others — were all born on June 7. So were my old college friend Doreen and my coworker Greg.

In addition, June 7 is the day that (in 1982) Graceland was opened to the public, and that (in 1942) the Battle of Midway ended. June 7 is also the day that (in 1893) Mahatma Gandhi practiced his first act of civil disobedience and that (in 1975) Sony introduced its ill-fated Betamax VCR.

Suffice it to say, a lot’s happened on June 7 over the years. But it doesn’t change the fact that today is my day, so I’ll be celebrating all day long. And really, why shouldn’t I?