My kids got a pile of gifts on the breakfast table every year on the anniversary of their birth. It’s fun to surprise and impress them. For a brief moment, you get to be a magician conjuring up exactly what brings them joy. Everyone wins. Until they get older and their expectations are not as easily met- so there are discussions about gratitude and the thought of being recognized. Which often doesn’t compensate for the now-missing anticipated pleasure.
But kids aside, I don’t get the tradition of recognizing the birthdays of work associates, clients, or even famous people. You lived one more year- OK. What else? Is it just that it is easy to have a designated day every year to give someone a little extra TLC. I suppose that’s nice.
There are so many other things to recognize and doing so would encourage others to act in tandem. Give credit to those who help out other parents with kid duty or coaching or scouts. Acknowledge those who support the local civil servants like the firefighters, libraries, or police.
Publically expressing gratitude to those who give their time is nice for the recipient of the praise but also advertises to the public the jobs that are performed daily on their behalf. It tells how people get involved and how their contribution keeps all the wheels of the neighborhood in motion.
Next time you post a birthday wish on social media, consider thanking someone else you know whose putting their two cents in for everyone else.
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