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The Birthday Thing

I’m not going to lie; I was a big fan of birthdays. I loved them, especially my own. I loved that I got to cut a big birthday cake, got presents and that this was my day and I get to celebrate me. But there comes a time in your life when you’re just not that excited about birthdays anymore. You get more excited about birthdays of family members or your best friends, perhaps. But not much on your own. Maybe it has to do that birthdays remind of you getting older or maybe not.

So years ago, I lost most of my excitement for my birthday. I also realized another thing. My birthday is not about me, at all. Why am I the one being celebrated when I didn’t do anything worth being celebrated? Why don’t I celebrate it giving something to my mother since she is the one who brought me in this world on this very day; since she is the one who went through all the pain and the labor; isn’t she the one who should be celebrated and not me?

There is this Newari tradition on birthdays: taking saga or shagun from your elders. We take their blessings and in return we give them something. So that could be a start. Why don’t we start a birthday thing? Instead of celebrating you, celebrate your mother, celebrate your parents and all that they’ve done for you. Give them something in return. Give them a present. Give them time.

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