Birthdays!
Birthdays!!! I love these days. I yearn and look forward to this day every year! Lots of people around especially loved ones, close friends and family.
School time la color dress was the most awesome thing for me about a birthday! Assembly la nikkum podhu, everybody will be in uniform and nan mattum color dress. That was a super duper feeling. But what sucked was, that happiness lasted me only half day cuz every birthday fell during Quarterly exams and school was only half day! And more than that, i had to go home and study for the next exam. No party nothing! And mine is a hugeeeee family. Lot of elderly people. So adhu vera enaku bayam. Closer to my birthday i will pray harder nothing should happen to anyone. I know its a selfish feeling but i was a kid then (Sollika vendiyadhu dhan ;) ) Apdiyum couple of times people died and i dint get my color dress too! :(
College birthdays were different. First year college first day was my birthday! Now doesnt that suck? You dont know anybody around you. You have a long day doing this and that as its the first day. By the time you get home its 7.30 and you cant have a party with school friends. Kulichutu saptu thoonginen. Marakamaten aeee 2000 Birthday va! But eventually i did party for this birthday! On my star birthday which fell on 30th September :D The next few birthdays were all exciting. We had a party at home with dinner for friends and family every year. Courtesy: My parents! Thanks: To me for being a single child ;) Lotsssssssssss of gifts, cards, posters, phone calls. Birthday na idhu apdinu thonum! College cut adichutu sema koothu adicherken on 2000-2004 birthdays!
US vandha aparam birthday stories oda total kadhaiyae vera. Best friends around, lots of other good friends around, cake cutting, birthday bums, mutta adi, ketu pona sambhar rasam, ketchups, beer, more, thayir nu ellamae mela pottu oru celebration. Kovil poven, dinner and lunch velila, movie nu jolly aah pogum. But still there has always been a missing element in the last 3 bdays. I dont know if its the spirit or parents or having people who moved aritificially with me. I think everyone of us will be able to sense if people are genuinely happy for u or pretending to be and I have seen more of the second kind in the last few years. I have met quite a few characters too who have gone out of the way to make me happy even during their hard times. It is people like them who have made me realise that birthdays are just not about cakes or gifts or outings. It is about the heartfelt wishes you get. It is about how happy u r and how happy u keep others around u. It is about how much u have learned from the previous year and how much more you have to work towards in the forthcoming year.
I was dreading the dawn of 20th. I was scared that i was going to become emotional and sentimental and cry and crib about being lonely. I hate self piting and sympathizing and that is exactly what i was going through all through the week before my birthday! I was running temperature and had a heavy cold. Amma was the first one to call.
"Happy Birthday to you.... Happy Birthday Dear Anu.... Happy Birthday to my Ammu.... Happy Birth...sob...sob....sob...." and I cried too. Bless her heart! I slept at 8.45 pm and woke up to talk to my friends (Arun & Susan) and around 11.45 pm, my friends called me to wish when friends from here walked in with a cake! Usual routine followed with a lot of picture sessions (Link coming up shortly) . I slept around 3 am. Next morning i went to work, then out for lunch with friends, then dance class. I was tired by 7.30. But a student's mother had called me home. She had made nice kheer & food and we were talking, talking and talking and i realised i was getting late. So i got up to leave when other families walked in with cakes. Another surprise party. I was overwhelmed at the affection showered on me. All through the last few years, I used to feel nostalgic about my parents and my good times with them when i saw kids with their parents. But last night, I felt really wanted and realised the warmth of their affection and felt like a family. Now, here is a question to ask myself. Would i still feel the same if they had not thrown a party? Undoubtedly! I am seeing more nicer people around me these days and my days are becoming happier. Touchwood!
Number of gifts received is indirectly proportional to the age! ;) But this year i got soooooooooo many unexpected gifts ( A hair straightner, Tommy Hilfiger make up kit (Now u know what that means!!!), dresses, jewellery sets, sweets, cakes, cards, etc) and my happiness doubled!!! :D My phone was not working properly. It kept shutting off. I switched it on in the afternoon once, evening once and night, i had 20 voice msgs each time. I was overwhelmed that so many people remembered me and had called from all over. Emails and offlines made me forget the sadness of getting into 25 ;) And thanks to orkut too for reminding my 300+ friends! Thanks everybody!
It is very true that when you dont expect anything and you get something, you feel all the more happy & wanted.
posted by Anu at 7:49 AM
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