It's my birthday and I'll rant if I want to

December 21, 1971

That is the day I made my grand entrance into the world as we know it.

As you can see, that is four days before Christmas, which is a pretty big holiday around these parts.

I also happen to be blessed with an older brother.  Aren't we cute???

Guess when he was born?

Christmas Eve.

I think my parents had spring fever.

There is a lot one could complain about being born this time of year.  For one thing, you do get a lot of the "combination birthday/Christmas" presents.  The tree was always up by the time the 21st rolled around, so the typical tradition in my family was to select a gift from under the tree to open on your birthday.

It was almost like playing Russian Roulette.  Would I open a fun gift to play with or would I end up with socks and underwear again???

As a young child, I always wondered why everyone else got balloons, party hats, and noisemakers while I had pictures of a fat man in a red suit on my presents.  Plus, my brother had a birthday around this time too, remember?  Not only did I have to share my birthday with Christmas, I had to share it with HIM.

I was also born on the first day of winter.  The day I was born, everything else died.

Now THAT'S a cheerful thought.

But, I'm not bitter.

Well, not anymore.

You see, the older I get, the more I appreciate being born on the day I was.  Since it coincides with the holiday season, there is a certain "festive quality" my birthday has always had that might not be there had I been born during another month of the year.  There is an excitement; a certain electricity in the air.  And, I also happen to be blessed with many good friends who have gone out of their way to make my birthday stand out.  They have even given me gifts wrapped in birthday paper, just so I can feel even more loved and special.

And, I do.

Now, as an adult, I love having my and my brother's birthdays so close together.  It bonds us in a very unique way; like we have this big secret that no one else knows except us.  That's pretty sweet.

So, you can call it a Merry Birthday if you want to.  I'm okay with it.

Either way, I can't think of anything else to do but celebrate.