I’ve been in a real funk all week. The reason? I’m reaching a certain milestone tomorrow agewise and while it isn’t bothering me, it seems to be on the minds of a whole lot of other people who seem to be bothered by the fact that I’m unconcerned. Why is society so obsessed with age? I’ve never been one to celebrate birthdays before and while I accept the cards and gifts with the appropriate responses, it wouldn’t bother me if I received nothing at all. Birthdays are basically a non-event in my life and I could count on one hand the number of birthday cakes I’ve had. In fact, while we are at it I may as well reveal I’ve never had a birthday party and that is out of choice.

When my 21st was looming, I was asked by my parents if I wanted a party and I declined, opting instead for a quiet family tea at my grandparents with other close relatives. I was at Uni at the time and had a whole load of exams on my plate which were far more important to me than a fake social event. Ask yourself this? How many birthday cards and gifts do you buy because you feel obligated and how many do you buy because you genuinely care for that person? I have a cousin turning 21 in February who no one in the family particularly likes but we’ll still be expected to produce a suitable gift. Thankfully, that’s my mum’s department and he’ll be getting nothing from me since his parents ignore the existence of my brother’s kids. That’s fine. When their offspring start breeding, they will be dutifully ignored in return.

Getting back to the point, I refuse to let other people dictate how I do or do not feel about my age. The fact is, if I posted a picture and told you I was turning an age ten years younger, you would believe it. I don’t look my age and in fact, I still get asked for ID. LOL! People are genuinely shocked when I tell them how old I am and I have one cousin in particular who takes great delight in telling everyone within earshot. It upsets me because I’m a pretty private person and I really don’t like being in the spotlight. People start looking at me in disbelief and by the end of the day, I start to feel like I’ve done something wrong.

She has basically made my life miserable this week and I don’t know how to tell her to mind her own business without causing some major family drama. It always backfires on her anyway because some people think she’s older than me and she doesn’t like that. She thinks she’s being cute when she does this and she has gotten away with this kind of thing all her life but there are times when I think she is being downright bitchy.

So, am I supposed to just sit back and take it or should I tell her to shut up? No wonder my anxiety levels are off the scale this week. It’s not my birthday that is depressing me – it’s the attitude of others.