Being first has its benefits, I guess. Being the first born is pretty cool, I think. Sure, I don’t remember any of those 2.5 years before my brother came along, but… I’m sure it was a blast, just me and my parents; just me getting all that attention from them and the rest of both sides of the family. Everybody loves a new baby! Being the first born of multiple children also means being the oldest, and wisest? Not sure about the wisest part, but I try. I know some folks don’t like being the first to a party, but I don’t mind; I’d always rather be early than late. Being first to discover something a la Christopher Columbus, although wait… we don’t celebrate that any more; this information is not true after all, is that right? OK, the first to discover a cure to a disease then; that sounds pretty notable, like nobel prize level type stuff. I know on social media nowadays being the first to respond is something desirable; who cares? How do you guarantee you’re first? I guess it starts with paying attention.
OK, how about being first to wish somebody a Happy Birthday? You ever try that? I’ve done that with my wife before… staying up until midnight, and wishing her a Happy Birthday in bed at 12:01; that’s something no? I don’t even stay up that late any more… Sending someone birthday wishes at exactly midnight of their birthday, kind of like wishing folks Happy New Year at that same time the evening of December 31st/morning of January 1st, is the best you can get, right? Well, it makes sense, but… what about the day before?
I don’t know when it started, but for as long as I can remember, my mother would always call me the day before my birthday to wish me a Happy Birthday; she would say Happy Birthday Eve. At first I didn’t think anything of it; as it went on, it kind of became a cool thing between us. This year the day before my birthday, it was one of the things I missed the most. Celebrating an “eve” is not uncommon; I’ve talked about this before. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve come to mind. Although we don’t wish anyone “Happy Thanksgiving Eve”, we certainly celebrate that Wednesday night, at least I did for many, many years. Other famous Eve’s included Adam’s and the rapper… haha… OK, stay on course. Yes, on being first, calling someone at midnight of their day may not do the trick after all. I know my Mom wouldn’t stay up until midnight, so she accomplished this by calling the day before. I’m not sure if that was her line of thinking, but I know she paid attention; I know she never hesitated showing her first born how special he was.
I don’t know when it started, but I started doing the same; I started calling my Mom the day before her birthday to wish HER a “Happy Birthday Eve”. Since I can’t pick up the phone and call her any more, let’s do this instead. Happy Birthday Eve Mom. This alternate version is not the same, it will never be as good being able to wish this to her in person, but it’ll just have to do… it will have to do…
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