Happy Half-Birthday, Taco Tuesday, and My Dog’s Birthday!

It was November 12, 1976, and I was alone in my dorm room when a piece of paper was slipped under my door. It was a homemade card that said “happy half-birthday.” I was confused. I tracked down the giver of the card, and she explained that it was six months since my birthday, so I was officially 18 and a half. I loved the idea! I lost touch with that sweet friend, but her idea of celebrating half-birthdays became a valued tradition in my world.

Last week was my daughter’s half-birthday, and although she is past the age of being excited about adding that “half” to her age, she is accustomed to observing her “halfway around the sun” day. Half-birthdays have become a little less elaborate as my kids have become adults, but we still gather to have half of a cake, and the person of honor gets a card cut in half and maybe a small gift. The idea is to celebrate each person’s life NOW while they are here for it! It also serves the purpose of spending time together as a family.

In addition to half-birthdays, we celebrated the cat’s birthdays, report card days, the first day of summer, the first day of school, and anything else we could think of when my kids were growing up. I’d like to tell you that these celebrations came about organically because I’m a natural optimist and a generally upbeat, positive person. That would be lying. I envy those people for whom optimism is their default mode. Expressing honest emotions is important, but I think being negative or positive is a habit that can be changed. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” And there you have the birth of the phrase, “Fake it until you make it,” which is what I sometimes do.

When my husband married into our family, he was a little surprised and overwhelmed by the quantity of traditions my daughters and I had established. He came from a family with very few traditions. He has no memories of even “real” birthdays being acknowledged as special events when he was a child. He adapted and now enjoys most of our celebrations and traditions. However, he did draw the line when I said I wanted to celebrate our marriage every month during the first year – spoilsport.

Life is full of obligations. The days when the kids are growing up are filled with the chaotic busyness of work, school, sports, homework, laundry, cooking, and chores. Our joy can get lost in the demanding grind of it all. Life requires work to keep the wheels of our lives turning smoothly. Celebrations bring families together and remind us life can also be full of fun and happiness.

Celebrations and traditions help create a feeling of family unity. In building a strong family, it’s important to spend time together and to recognize each person for their vital place in the family. It feels good to be the center of attention occasionally. One of my favorite birthday traditions in our family is the speech-making portion of birthdays. During the cake and ice cream eating time, we go around the table, and each person says what they love or admire about the birthday person. I’ve always thought it was depressing and sad that we tend to wait until a person is dead to talk about their virtues. It’s much nicer to tell the person what we love about them while they’re still here to enjoy it! Seeing the glow of happiness on the guest of honor’s face as they hear praise is a beautiful sight!

Whether you decide to celebrate half-birthdays, your dog’s birthday, Taco Tuesdays, or jump in wholeheartedly and observe everything, the goal is to make the family a happy place of belonging. Create memories and traditions that will make your children want to come home even when they’re no longer required to show up. Rituals, traditions, family celebrations, and gatherings are essential to creating a feeling of family unity. Bring on the streamers, cakes, tacos, and balloons. Bring on the fun!