Why I 辞退する to celebrate my son's birthday - and see my grandchildren's 祝賀s as an 年次の chore
A couple of weeks ago, my 年上の son Tom had a birthday ― his 56th. But did I 示す it with him in any way? I did not. These days, I have pretty much forgotten when most of my family's birthdays are.
In my 見解（をとる）, birthday 祝賀s are for children and children only. I told my five grandchildren I would remember their birthdays until they were 21 ― but not afterwards. All but one has now passed that milestone.
As children, my sons Tom and Will would be almost sick with excitement when their birthdays were approaching. But now, 井戸／弁護士席, they are middle-老年の men and more likely to regard yet another birthday with foreboding.
The childish 面 of birthdays is 最高潮の場面d by the singing of that infantile ditty, Happy Birthday To You. This song, if you can call it that, 示すd its centenary on March 4 this year and, seemingly, will never go away.
Liz Hodgkinson has told her 親族s 'let's forget about birthdays'. Pictured: Victoria Beckham leaving her 抱擁する 50th birthday bash on husband David's 支援する
The tune was 初めは composed by American sisters Mildred and Patty Hill, who ran a 幼稚園 where, every day, they would lead their pupils in singing a little jingle, Good Morning To All.
In 1924, it became the tune for Happy Birthday and became a 大当り for the Hill family, as they and their 子孫s made a fortune from the 王族s to the music.
On that 公式文書，認める, something else to dread is when somebody's birthday is 存在 celebrated in a restaurant and a raucous rendition of Happy Birthday is heard from the (usually) drunk celebrants and, often, the staff as they 耐える a cake with lighted candles aloft.
And is there anything worse than the surprise birthday party, where you innocently turn up at somebody's house only to be 迎える／歓迎するd by 集まりs of balloons and the 組み立てる／集結するd throng singing Happy Birthday? I 警告するd my family that if ever they dared to （打撃，刑罰などを）与える this ordeal on me, I would go straight 支援する home.
In my 見解（をとる）, birthday 祝賀s are for children and children only, Liz Hodgkinson 令状s. I told my five grandchildren I would remember their birthdays only until they were 21
The farce that is adults' birthdays （機の）カム home to me many years ago when my distant 親族s, most of whom I never saw, would dutifully send me birthday cards and いつかs 現在のs, always days or weeks late. If you are going to celebrate somebody's birthday, it has to be on the day.
In the end, I （機の）カム out and said to them, let's forget about birthdays. This meant I didn't have to try to remember theirs either, and there was a 抱擁する sigh of 救済 all 一連の会議、交渉／完成する. Never again were birthday wishes received or sent.
My ex-husband, though, 保持するs an attachment to his birthday. As I invariably forget the date, he will 犯罪-trip me by calling up and singing, Happy Birthday To Me. In vain I tell him that his birthday has not been at the 最前部 of my mind since we separated 35 years ago.
But perhaps the most annoying birthday 開発 of all is that almost every day I see a Facebook notification 知らせるing me that it is the birthday of one of my 'friends' ― many of whom I've 受託するd a friend request from, 予定 to a 相互の 関係, but have never met. To make 事柄s worse, I am often asked to 与える／捧げる to their favourite charity. To 避ける this 当惑, I have carefully not 明らかにする／漏らすd my birth date on social マスコミ.
My 隣人s in the flat downstairs are Jehovah's 証言，証人／目撃するs, and they say that in their 約束 birthdays are never celebrated.
In my opinion, they have the 権利 idea.
