Author: Jenn Goddu

Jenn Goddu http://www.birthdayarebest.com I am a writer, editor, and writing coach who also blogs about birthdays!

Happy Birthday…within reason

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So, you say it’s your birthday? You’re ready to celebrate with a massive blowout party. Or you’re going to try that new _________ you’ve always wanted to try. You’re going to really put it all out there because, after all, it’s your birthday.

That’s great. Really. Just don’t die OK?

Turns out we are a little bit more likely to kick the bucket on our birthday. What a spoilsport finding, right? Durned social scientists always have to find some way to ruin the fun.

Researchers in 2012 determined that on average people over the age of 60 were 14% more likely to die on their birthdays. In case you’re hoping their sample size was something piddly like say 14, regrettably they studied more than two million people and found a rise in deaths from heart attacks, strokes, falls and suicides.

Another study coming out in 2015, according to Business Insurance, found death rates up among those 20 to 29 on their birthday. “People in that age range have an average excess death rate reaching 25.4%,” the article summarized — particularly if their bdays were on the weekend.

Because I don’t want this blog post to be a total be a total downer, check out Ranker.com’s list of celebrities who died on their birthdays. Just a few notables include: playwright William Shakespeare, musician Sidney Bechet, and actress Ingrid Bergman.

Enjoy this Wilco & Billy Bragg song about Ingrid Bergman as my parting thought: 

Bill Me for Your Birthday?

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med75-001Throwing a birthday party can be expensive. Happily my son has selected a sleepover this year. I’ve decided the savings is worth the insanity that is sure to ensue (and the crankiness to be expected from my sleep-deprived birthday boy the day after).

Yet, anyone who has planned a child’s birthday at a venue knows hosts often have to give the number of guests expected in advance and are charged per person. Of course, since we’re talking about petri dishes of pestilence — I mean children — there can be no-shows.

Sure, this hurts the host’s pocketbook, but with utter shock I report an English mother actually charged another set of parents for their failure to bring a five-year-old to her son’s party. Of course it is surprising the threat of litigation didn’t happen first in the U.S! But the woman even printed out a full-on invoice (shown in The Telegraph story) for approximately $24 US!

The Telegraph editorial didn’t “seek to take sides,” but a columnist in the paper wrote that she would have just paid the bill to “rise above” playground politics.

RSVPs are common sense and letting hosts know of changing plans is good manners. Had I skipped out at the last minute I would feel guilty and would have apologized profusely for the inconvenience. But would I have felt financially responsible? H-E-double-hockey-sticks No.

To a Leapling with Love

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Image source: http://www.mystro.com/CompSmallweb.jpg

 

My near-nephew is a “Leapling.” This is not a terribly common word, but neither are people who celebrate their birthdays on a Leap Day. According to International Business Times’ (IBT) report on the science of leap years, “The chance of being born on Leap Day is 1 in 1,461.”

The Leap Day was introduced thousands of years ago when we transitioned from the Roman Calendar to the Julian Calendar. The switch resulted in an extra day added to February nearly every four years. Yeah, I thought it was every four years guaranteed, but apparently the year also must not be easily divisible by 100 – so 1900 didn’t get a Feb. 29 while 2000 did.

I hadn’t thought of it before, but apparently there are even countries that have laws that define when a leapling will come of age in legal terms. According to timeanddate.com, in New Zealand it’s Feb. 28, while in the U.K. it would be March 1.

Also in the IBT, Dave Smith wrote in 2012 about celebrating his 6th birthday although he was born Feb. 29, 1988.  Other sites point to the record-keeping Keogh family who are in the Guinness Book of World Records for birthing three consecutive generations on Leap Day!

Personally, I’m more impressed by Karin Henriksen of Norway who apparently gave birth to a daughter in 1960, and sons in 1964 and 1968, ALL on Leap Day. That’s taking family planning to a whole new level!

One today? Smash it!

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It isn’t a first birthday until someone has cake all over his face. Or, in the case of some buzzkill friends of mine who WILL be named (Jay & Jenny), yogurt!

lucas

I’m all for healthy eating (well, 86% for it at least), but on your birthday you deserve cake. Even if you are only 1-year-old. Witness my own son’s first birthday cupcake smoosh-a-thon. Yes, it does deserve a-thon because, as you may remember, he had a Charlie Brown party but I had already made the cupcakes expecting friends. So, we had plenty of monkey-faced cakes for him to chow down upon.

NB

If nothing else the birthday cake eating/smashing moment is a great one for posterity. Here are some other great images of youthful cake glee I discovered via google.

Image source: http://www.bumpandbambino.com

Image source: http://jp16.r0tt.com/t_b86908a0-c56d-11e2-9968-cf597fc00016.jpg

Image source: http://blogs.babycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/outfit13-300×200.jpg

Cake smashing is its own sub-genre on Pinterest. Here’s some great photography to enjoy!

Of course there is now actually a trend to provide the birthday girl or boy with her or his own cake that they can use for finger food and face stuffing. That seems a little much for a kid who won’t remember the moment past their next nap. Nevertheless, you only turn one once. Let the baby eat cake!

Share your own pics and thoughts in the comments below. I’d love to see them! The messier the better.

No Further Use for this Birthday…

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I’ve written previously about kind folks donating as part of their birthday. If I find a current example I post it on twitter under #generousbday. Today, though, I want to share a past occurrence of birthday generosity. Author Robert Louis Stevenson, who you likely know best for Treasure Island, gave up his birthday to a 12-year-old girl.

Image source: http://i.guim.co.uk

Annie Ide, daughter to the U.S. Commissioner to Samoa where Stevenson was at the time living, was churlish about having been born on Christmas Day. So, Stevenson, wrote up a contract granting her rights to his November 13 birthday.

“…considering that I, the said Robert Louis Stevenson, have attained an age when O, we never mention it, and that I have now no further use for a birthday of any description…” he transferred “All and Whole of my rights and privileges in the 13th day of November, formerly my birthday, now, hereby, and henceforth, the birthday of the said A. H. Ide, to have, hold, exercise and enjoy the same in the customary manner, by the sporting of fine raiment, eating of rich meats and receipt of gifts, compliments and copies of verse, according to the manner of our ancestors.”

He did ask that she add the name Louisa to hers “at least in private” and charged her to use the “birthday with moderation and humanity.”

The document was even witnessed and sealed before being sent on to the lucky girl. He was only 41 when he made the donation, but regrettably died three years later succumbing to the ill health that had brought him to Samoa in the first place.

Perhaps it’s karma that the world-renowned author of Kidnapped and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is now consistently feted on his “unbirthday” in his native Scotland on RLS Day.

“Birthday Cake Fail” Fast Approaching

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My son’s birthday is coming up. This means it’s nearly time for me to attempt another overly ambitious feat of cake decorating. I try to keep with the theme he’s selected, but what I envision in my head is seldom what the guests enjoy.

I remember my mother making really creative cakes for my brother and me. However, my mother is a visual artist; I am a writer.

Google “birthday cake fail” and you’ll find many options. PopSugar offers a 43-picture slide show. BuzzFeed labels its article: “24 People Who Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Decorate Cakes.”

This is mocking people who have made the effort to make their loved one’s birthday that much better. These people didn’t just go to the grocery store and let some professional pipe on “Happy Birthday Sweetie.” No, they added the eggs to that boxed cake mix and pulled out the tub of icing and got creative!

I say suck up the ugly and taste the love!!

In the meantime, here are some of my past efforts (I expect to see these in someone else’s Cake Fail album one day).

For a beach party theme.

For a beach party theme.

These are supposed to be monkeys. Can't you tell?

These are supposed to be monkeys. Can’t you tell?

Most recent effort became a mess of confetti and cutouts from cereal box as my superhero plan went woefully awry.

Most recent effort became a mess of confetti and cutouts from cereal box as my superhero plan went woefully awry.

Sports-themed cupcakes. Probably my best yet (except for the hockey sticks on the right).

Sports-themed cupcakes. Probably my best yet (except for the hockey sticks on the right).

No Birthdays in Bhutan?

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Living in a largely Buddhist kingdom nestled high in the Himalyas, the Bhutanese do not typically celebrate their birthdays. Writing in Travel + Leisure, Alan Brown credited this to their measuring time by “sunrises and seasons, not by dates.” In fact, when citizenship cards were issued to the Bhutanese everyone was given the birth date of January 1. Some 60% of people didn’t even know their date of birth!

Yet this is a kingdom that has eschewed GDP in favor of Gross National Happiness. They value happiness above all, but don’t have Happy Birthdays?!

Perhaps this says something about happiness coming from doing good and being part of something larger rather than focusing on the self. Still, giving up honoring the individual on his or her birthday would not make me happy. Nevertheless, I love this tradition shared by a Canadian teaching in Bhutan, in which schoolchildren share toffees (he baked cookies) so as to give on a birthday rather than receive.

Smiling Bhutanese schoolchildren. Source: commons.wikipedia.org

Smiling Bhutanese schoolchildren. Source: commons.wikipedia.org

Two Bhutan travel companies I visited online also noted that younger generations are now more particular about their birth dates and the birthday celebration trend is growing among urban dwellers.

Plus, Bhutan’s royal family members are feted on their birthdays. The reigning king’s birthday garners three days of festivals. Now, that’s a birthday!

Just a little note to say…

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imagesI’ll admit, I’m a little “het up” as a I write this. Today, I came across someone offering advice on how to disable the birthdays function from Google Calendar.The author writes, When you’re out in a restaurant and the invariable singing of the birthday song commences, you join in to serenade the stranger, right? (That’s not just me is it?).

Maybe I’m not in an industry where a simple, polite email addressing the person’s birthday would be frowned upon. Why it could even be brand building as you’d be known as the client/customer/salesperson who cares enough to help the person celebrate their special day.

Or maybe it’s the effort involved in writing the email that is the worry? Let me offer this assistance:

“Hi _______,

I see on Google Calendar that it’s your birthday today. I wanted to take a moment to wish you a great one! Have a wonderful birthday.

Your name (complete with witty/pithy/professional added signature line).”

Now go ahead, share the birthday love.

A birthday resolution?

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It’s the start of a new year. Many people will have made resolutions. Some will even stick with their promises to eat better, stop smoking, get in shape, or save money the entire year. (If that’s you, congratulations. Even if you make it into February — yeah, you!).

Photo from: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20452233,00.html

Photo from: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20452233,00.html

Another time for big promises to ourselves is our birthday. It’s a second fresh start to the year. Our year. Not a calendar year. The year unique to us. Last year, I resolved to start this blog. This post marks three months in! Whoo-hoo.

I’m in favor of saying resolutions out loud. Telling everyone and asking them to keep you accountable. It’s something I tried with my #365novel project where I was writing a page a day.

Other advice, offered by a life coach on Huffington Post, is to be specific and resolve to do something that is achievable.

The American Psychological Association suggests starting small and being kind to yourself along the way if you falter in keeping to your resolution.

The most surprising tip I came across? Drink OJ. Or lemonade. According to WebMD’s tips, exercising self control depletes our blood-glucose level! Perhaps my aversion to OJ is why I have so little self-control?

Image from: healthyconfidentyou.com

Image from: healthyconfidentyou.com

What birthday resolutions have you made in the past? What has helped you to stick with them? Please share!

Sliding into the new year?

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I am Canadian. I say this proudly even despite what I am about to tell you. Apparently, a tradition attributed to Canadians is buttering the nose of the birthday boy or girl.
This never happened to me. Nor to any of my friends (unless they were too embarrassed to ever mention it). Yet, if it’s on the Internet it must be true, right?


Mental Floss traces it to Canada in their fun birthday traditions video. The Revivalist recalls his own birthday greasings in the past and credits the tradition back to the Scots.
A Wheel and Distaff blog about the buttering garners comments from people across the United States who have experienced this tradition too.
A blogger on “Intangible Cultural Heritage, Folklore, and Oral History” talking about the tradition quotes a private blog with an American writer stating, “As the story goes, the butter is meant to help you slide into your new year!”

I love the idea of sliding into my new year, but I can think of many things I’d rather use:
icing (not buttercream…I hate buttercream)
ice cream
peanut butter
caramel
chocolate pudding
crème brulee
chocolate mousse…
Hmm. Mine would be a sticky start to the year.

Canadian or no, I’d love to hear if you have experience with this tradition. Some day, when I eventually write my book on birthdays, I can add more to the conversation around this greasy idea.