Happy (un)Birthday

I think the Mad Hatter was really on to something with the whole ‘un-birthday thing’—why should celebrating you be restricted to just ONE day a year? Germany gets it, they’ve dedicated no less than one month to celebrating their favorite beverage and look how well that caught on—people are chicken dancing their way across the globe as we speak. And Disney, the inventors of the original un-birthday, celebrated their 50th anniversary for no less than 2 and a half years.

When I was little, I followed this mantra religiously until I realized that celebrating everyday like a real birthday can become a logistical nightmare—hello. . .you aren’t the only one privy to having an un-birthday or two and purchasing gifts can put a major strain on a five-year-old budget when your income is dependent on how many teeth you happen to have lost that month. So, I focused my efforts on that one special day and dedicated myself to planning the coolest birthday parties around—Murder Mystery party (you’ll never guess who dunnit), pajama party (I heart feet pajamas!) and a Double Dare party so good my friends were washing slime out of their hair for weeks.

As my next un-un-birthday rapidly approaches (how’s that for a double negative?) I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to grown up (although I still refuse to consider myself a ‘grown up’ even at the ripe old age of 27). I look back on how much things have changed—and how they haven’t. While I’m still a sucker for a good theme party and pointy hats, it’s easy to get caught up in the rush of the day to day and forget to approach each day as a day worthy of celebration—a day worthy of eating cake. Luckily I survived the quarter life crisis that snuck up on me last year in the form of the undying urgency to repaint my bathroom no less than three times just because I needed a change—and came to the realization that you just can’t sweat the small stuff. Groundbreaking, I know.

I am lucky to say that I’ve spent most of my ‘grown up’ years working for a company who operates under this exact premise—‘Why have a bad day when you can have a good day?’—which proves to be one of the reasons we continue to grow and emerge from our teen years unscathed. 2009 marks the year of our 20th anniversary, and in honor of this momentous occasion, we are going old school and partying like its 1989—sans aqua-net hair spray and New Kids on the Block (reunion tour not withstanding)—with events and promotions galore. Giving us many reasons to celebrate—and eat cake.