You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too!

I've recently been investigating the phenomenon where men and women differ on the issue of birthdays. To me, and most of my female friends, birthdays are HUGE! They're fun, we throw parties, and get all silly. Even if you don't want to celebrate getting older, your friends find a way to cajole you into celebrating and having fun. Men, on the other hand, seem to have no use for birthdays. They're "just another day," as I've heard put so many times.

Now, I have a friend, who shall remain nameless, who absolutely does everything within his power to hide his birthday from EVERYONE. The first year I knew him I was told it was his birthday, and...being a girl...I got all excited and planned some silliness with my co-workers involving us singing to him as he drove us around backstage Epcot. He was so mad he didn't speak to me for TWO WEEKS. You'd think this would deter me, but it didn't. I've made sure to find a way to recognize his birthday every year since...and here's why (for all you men who don't get why women love birthdays so much):

Birthdays, to me, are the day to celebrate the day you were born. It's not about getting older, it's about getting excited that you got the chance to come into this world and live the life you're living. And to me, because you were born on that day, and your life has unfolded as it has, we've gotten to be friends. So I'm really thankful for your birthday, because I'm really happy we're friends. What it comes down to is this:

YOUR BIRTHDAY IS A BIG DEAL TO ME BECAUSE YOU ARE A BIG DEAL TO ME.

To me, your birthday is a great day to take time and really celebrate YOU, celebrate all you are, all you're going to be, and all that you've brought to my life thus far. I'm sorry if you don't like that you're a big deal to me. That's how it is...I'm a girl...and I'm going to continue to pester you about your birthday. Learn to love it or at least get over it.

=)

Anyway, all you male-folk...there it is: my reason for being all "girly" about birthdays and making a big deal out of them. Do with it what you will. And, may I say, the above explanation was not directed at any particular "you"....fear not, oh friend who hates and hides his birthday....it was directed at the vast number of "yous" in my life who still don't understand why birthdays are a big deal. And it's all meant in good fun, OK?

In the meantime, I'll take this time to say Happy Birthday to any and all friends I have who might have a birthday today (yes, there's more than one). Oh! And the ones who have a birthday tomorrow (just one), since it's almost midnight. Happy Birthday!

And now I'll return to my constant schedule of taking sinus meds, coughing fits, ODing on cough drops, and drinking tons of water. Ah, spring. I whined and whined for it to come, and now it's here and I have bug bites and sinus issues. The grass is always greener...eh? Well, at least right now the grass is certainly greener than it has been; and that's something to be happy about. That, and the wonderful birthdays of some phenomenal friends. =)

Two more days until I'm done with all the grad school crap!

music: Indigo Girls medley from all their albums put on one playlist on random on my Itunes.