Thoughts for Thursday- 08-10-2023
Thoughts on Birthdays
A Very Happy Thoughts for Thursday Everyone!!!
Just a reminder that Computer Greeks (located at 12222 S Harlem Ave in Palos Heights) is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm for all your tech needs and we are always delighted to see you (ok, not all of you, but most of you. Ok, many of you. Some of you…)
In case you didn’t know after all these years of my TfT “Thoughts for Thursday” ramblings, I have two amazing children:
My daughter, Cora and my son, Sage.
I’m sure you are all familiar with my GrandDog Bea (she’s absolutely my favorite, but don’t let my kids know).
Today is a very special day. It is my son’s birthday and two days ago was my daughter’s.
I have always thought it was very cool how that worked out.
I enjoy that the dates are so close together for many reasons.
2 years and 2 days difference in their ages has a nice ring to it after all and it makes trying to remember how old they are a little easier.
If you guess right on the one, the math to figure out the other isn’t that hard and before you think to criticize if I don’t always remember their ages right away, I’m pretty sure they know, so it isn’t like we aren’t able to find out eventually.
And I haven’t even mentioned how convenient it is.
While you would agree that it’s easy to forget one of your kid’s birthdays (I’m sure we’ve all done it once or twice- right?), it’s a little harder to forget both.
(Not impossible mind you, but definitely harder.)
I mean, one kid or the other is probably going to say something like:
“Hey dad, try not to forget our birthday’s again like you did last year, ok?”
or
“How can you even call yourself a parent?”
“Do you have any idea how emotionally scarred we both are and who’s going to pay for all this therapy I need anyway?”
or something along those lines.
(Kids say the cutest things.)
Having their birthdays so close together just makes perfect sense, for example:
You only need to go shopping once.
If you shop selectively, you can even give them a single gift and tell them they need to share.
“How are we supposed to share a pair of socks dad?”
You each get to wear one or just take turns.
It’s not that hard to figure out and it teaches valuable life lessons.
Another reason, you only need to buy one card.
Just write both names at the top and since they are two years apart, I would always get a card that was the average of their ages.
For example, when they were 8 and 10, I would get one that said Happy 9th Birthday- see, simple!
(Quick Tip- you can get two cards at the Dollar Store for $1, and if you need to cross out “Bar Mitzvah” and write in “Birthday”- most kids can’t read anyway, so who cares?)
It works the same way with a cake.
“Hapy 9 B-day CorSag” (You pay by the letter for those cake decorations- what a scam).
Parties were a little bit trickier having a boy and a girl that often had very different interests growing up.
I still remember when they were 7 and 5 years old. Cora was really into Mermaids and Sage loved Science experiments, so we had a Fish Fry party that I think worked really well for both.
I was even able to get a bunch of plates and napkins from Long John Silver’s for free that fit the theme perfectly.
It takes a little effort to make it all work, but the look on their faces really made everything worthwhile.
Sure, to the average observer, their faces might have looked like Shock and Terror, but I still say Awe and Wonder look very similar.
I understand that at this point, many of you are thinking this all sounds really great Uncle Steve, but my kid’s birthdays aren’t close together like yours, so how does any of this help me?
Now listen closely, here’s the secret:
Kids have no idea when they were born.
If you start early on, their birthdays can be whenever you want them to be.
In reality, Cora’s birthday is in April and Sage’s is in September or November or one of those “ember” months, I think.
When they were little, it became obvious that one party was easier and cheaper than two and moving the date to early August was just economically smart planning.
It didn’t interfere with school and there were no other big holidays in August to conflict with like many of the “ember” months.
My birthday is in May, so it wouldn’t work out with Cora’s in April because my birthday often takes 2-3 months of planning and preparation to pull off the event that I deserve.
So, if your kids are young enough, get started now.
And if your kids are a little older and already know when you’ve been celebrating, just tell them that they were adopted and you just found out what their real birthdays are and need to shift them around right away.
Tell them it’s the law. Kids don’t know laws any more than they know their birthdays.
(Another Quick Tip: If you celebrated their birthdays in the last 12 months, you get to skip their next “real birthday” and pick up with the following year. It’s like a birthday credit.)
That’s all the time I have for today except to wish both of my kids a Very Happy Birthday!
One of the great things about my “Thoughts for Thursday” (besides how amazingly entertaining they always are) is they don’t charge by the letter, and this totally counts as a Card and Present all in one- so I’m covered for another year.
Until next time,
Be Well and Stay Safe
Uncle Steve