Slipping into Madness

I2: UNimportant Things

As the new year begins, consider at least one thing you considered too ‘important’ in the past. What makes it so ‘unimportant’ now? (<500 words)

When I was young, I thought that birthdays were important because it proved how old someone was. They were a day that not only marked some milestone in life, letting me do more and more things, but they also were a day that was all about me (and my cousin who share's a birthday with me—he's six hours and twenty minutes older).

My sister and I would ask cashiers at the supermarket (if they were friendly and wanted to talk) how old they thought we were and who they thought was older. The one who people thought was older won. It should be said here that my sister is two years and ten days younger than me, but each had our wins in that game, mostly because she was a more seriously minded child than I.

Now, I've just celebrated my forty-seventh birthday last month, and the day mostly passed without note. I didn't open any presents. We had a cake, but it lasted days and days with only the three of us eating. And now, when I tell someone how old I am, I'm happy when they don't believe that I could be that old. I have one friend who recently expressed disbelief that I could be the age I am, and I took that as a high compliment.

Now, birthdays are just another day that isn't all about me. And I celebrate how young I still am.

Although my aches as I get up in the morning tell me that I'll soon get to the point that I'll be aged by the creaking of my joints.

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