For many of us birthdays are a national holiday. It should be a national holiday for us all. The day we were brought into this world is special, well noteworthy at least, in our own minds. So every year, though many of try to deny, we want to celebrate, but often life has a more sour twist planned for the occasion. It can help to remind yourself that... it's just another day... creeping closer to death.
Redditor u/anastasiasky wanted everyone to tell us about their life celebrations by asking..... What is the worst thing that has happened on your birthday?
You killed Mrs. Fields.....
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I had asked for a cookie cake from Mrs. Fields cause they're awesome. My step mom said she would bake one and it would be even better. She somehow mixed up sugar with salt while making it. What came out of that oven was a war crime. Col_Walter_Tits
Just go to Micky D's....
Fell off my brand new tricycle and broke my arm on my 4th birthday. My mum didn't believe my arm was broken so didn't go to the hospital until 2 days later.
Also when I was about 12, I had my party at a park, this was before the days of mobile phones and my friends who were coming couldn't find us. They gave up and all went to McDonalds together, while I sat and ate my cake with my Mum. Worst thing was the following Monday when they talked about how much fun they had without me :-( babydoll-81
How dare you!
My mom is a regifter, despite being extremely picky about the gifts she receives. She is not poor.
This year for my birthday, I received a box with wrapped gifts. Opened one, then realized it was a carefully-selected gift I had given her two years ago at Christmas. When she called, she asked how I liked my gifts (which included a 15-year-old candle from her closet, and stationery from her own stock of sidewalk sale finds.) I didn't have much to say.
She texted later that she could tell I didn't like my presents, but that she put a lot of work into shopping for and wrapping them. I wrote back and said my feelings were hurt that she re-gifted me something I gave her.
She informed me that she sure wasn't going to send presents anymore. t-brave
On Impact!
I shared my 11th birthday with a pal from down the road and his parents were giving him a party so he invited me, along with some of our friends, to share.
In their front garden (Surrey - UK) they had a sunken lawn which doubled as a tennis court or a playing field for us youngsters, but this year there was a huge thunderstorm that emptied massive quantities of rain on us and drove us all indoors. The party was somewhat dampened until the storm ended and we found that there was easily a foot or more of rainwater in the sunken lawn. We quickly scampered out to splash and play in the water - it was brilliant.
In the middle of all this there was suddenly a dull screech and thump on the road outside and it didn't take long for us to find out that my pal's father had crossed the road to nip to a nearby shop - and on his return he'd been hit by a van. Sadly he died on impact... never to be forgotten even though that's now almost 63 years ago. Leo9ine
Man down!!
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I got out of bed, shouted "It's my birthday!" slipped and fell down the stairs, and ended up in hospital with a concussion.
Basic floor plan for those confused about the stair location. hobbes_shot_first
A Dour Christmas....Â
I was going through chemo on my 13th birthday and spiked a fever and had to be hospitalized. My birthday is December 24. My sister told me I ruined Christmas.
I was so ready to just give up and die that night. imsomessedup
Don't be tardy....
My parents completely forgot that it was my birthday. I was excited all day to get a present or a card or anything, but the entire day went by and no one remembered asides from one random friend at school. It was really depressing.
My dad ended up remembering a day or so later because he checked Facebook and saw the notification. pm_me_orange_birds
Life.... and Death....
My best friend (and best coworker!) And I made big plans for a taco lunch after my birthday because my family had plans to take me out on my birthday. When a call came through on her phone on my big day, I assumed she was calling to wish me a happy birthday. Nope. It was her family calling me to tell me she had passed away in her sleep earlier that morning. Everything just stopped in that moment. So much sadness still and this was nearly three years ago. Gnome926
Still Mad.Â
Was at Maccas and played truth or dare with my 8 year old friends, they dared me to go and stand outside (didn't specify for how long). Me assuming someone would come surprise me with a b-day present I waited out there for a good 30 mins. No one ever came, I went back inside and everyone other than my parents left. My parents thought i was saying good bye to everyone. Still mad. arisian_largechair
The Lonely Drive....
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I had gotten in the car to go to our family pond to celebrate my becoming of a teenager... as we drive my mother informed me that none of the friends I invited were going to attend the celebration. mau5ey
Curious to hear what stumps strangers online, Redditor homo1ogize asked:
"What makes absolutely no sense to you at all?"
The things people do can be forever mysteries.
Entitlement
"Grown adults not taking responsibility for their actions/property and expecting others to clean up after them."
– RevenantBosmer91
A Curious Culinary Process
"How people came up with baking."
"I get eating meats and veggies and fruits. That's just food that's pretty much ready to go."
"But somehow someone figured you can grind this plant into a powder, add a certain amount of water and some chicken eggs and some oil and some other crushed plant stuff and then heat it for X Minutes and now you have cake or bread or cookies or whatever."
– JohnLocke815
Leaving The Bowl Full
"People that don't flush public restroom toilets."
"What's the deal with that? Do they not flush in their own homes? Is it laziness? Contempt with society? Seeing retail and other workers suffer? Just not knowing better?"
– SmashElite16
Life Insurance Loophole
"Seems like half of the true-crime shows I watch involve life insurance. What I don't understand is how the perpetrators convince themselves that being the beneficiary on a brand-new life insurance policy and then having the insured turn up dead within days or weeks is not going to put you under a detective's microscope."
"Even more suspicious are the ones who immediately make the claim for payout within a day of the death. At least sit on it for a month or two and act like you're grieving."
These trends continue to dumbfound Redditors' minds.
The Housing Market
"House price rises. How seriously can people have so much money for crappy houses? Where are all these great paying jobs that service the mortgage?"
"My partner and I have decent middle class jobs ( teacher, nurse) yet cannot afford to buy in the city where we live…. And not even close to the city where we live."
"How can a pandemic wreck an economy… throw thousands out of work needing to rely on government handouts …. Yet house prices increase?"
– mwm1980
The Facebook Ploy
"Those Facebook photos that promise you a lot of money if you post them. Is it true that people believe it?"
"How, in what environment, under what conditions, could that possibly work? Is this some sort of inside joke that I'm not aware of? 'Write Amen.'"
Brain Talk
"My first language was Spanish, which I learned at home. I learnt English at school and with friends outside of school. In addition, German is spoken."
"Surprisingly, when I speak in my brain, it's always in English. When I pronounce them out loud, though, they come out in the correct language."
Knowing scientific explanations doesn't necessarily mean we will completely comprehend them.
Moon Face
"How the moon is in perfect rotation with the earth to the point where we only see one side of the moon at all times no matter what."
– N3RDAL3RT96
Lack Of A Void
"What is the root of consciousness and why is there something instead of nothing."
Baby Transition
"How babies just go from swimming/breathing in a pouch of goo to being born and able to breathe normal air. It makes no sense to me. How does something go from not breathing air to breathing air in like a second?"
– doxiebark
The Vastness Above Us
"Space."
"Look at the moon. Some days you can see Saturn or Jupiter out there. Look at the stars."
"You think about us… people on this rock in space all running around. We're floating in space on a rock. Spinning around. All together. One."
"And space is just soooo big. It's overwhelming. Really really big. I can't even comprehend how big."
"It doesn't even make sense how big it is."
This is something I've always chalked up to fate, but the concept of meeting people floors me.
How did I wind up with the friends in my circle? How did I get paired with my parents in this life? And how did I meet the person with whom I wound up exchanging vows?
It's terrifying to comprehend the prospect of never having met some of the most important people in my life, yet I would never know because I haven't been faced with the alternative.
It continues to blow my mind.
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The biggest lesson for me. "Oh stop worrying. There is plenty of time for that."
NO THERE IS NOT! There is no time left! Use it wisely!
Facts GIF by Judge JerryTalk it Through
"Not talking about problems or concerns or feelings. My family really only makes small talk. Talking about the weather, gossip, etc. If there is any kind of disagreement, it's typically handled by giving the silent treatment, which might last anywhere from a couple hours to a few weeks or more. The only exception to this was my dad."
"If he was really angry, he would yell, slam things, and sometimes hit. Then pretend it never happened. No one ever asked how anyone else was doing, or about their day. I would come home from school and go straight to my room, because it was just a fact of life that no one would want to talk to me."
"If I had a problem, it would never occur to me to discuss it with my parents. There were never any "I love you's" or hugs or anything. I still, to this day, have never heard either of my parents apologize. I know they loved us in their own dysfunctional way, though."
"I probably overcompensate now. If I have a disagreement with my husband, I HAVE to talk it through in it's entirety. Even if it takes hours. I hug and tell my kids I love them several times a day. I ask questions every day about school, friends, etc. I apologize when I'm wrong. It's weird that that honestly comes naturally to me. I never realized how messed up my childhood was until I had kids of my own." ~ nicole11930
Self First
"Learning to say NO." ~ guyhabit
"If only my family would learn to accept "no". My mom insists on buying metric crap ton of food everytime she visits, despite me telling her not to, so she goes through all my things to "know" what to buy."
"She saw some oatmeal I never finished and two cans of soup I had for emergencies when I'm too sick to eat anything else. Now I'm stuck with a metric crap ton of soup and oatmeal that I keep forgetting to drop off for the local food pantry." ~ 1stLtObvious
Be Loud
"Talking back to anyone older that you is disrespectful. My parents taught me this and it's crap." ~ Halloweendog84
"I unlearned it during childhood. Got tired of my grandparents treating my parents wrong. Still am. I just wish my parents would see it and realize that they don't need to rely on them anymore. I'm tired of abusive or unhelpful family members being part of our lives." ~ bluedragggon3
XOXO
Season 4 Hug GIF by Good GirlsGiphy"That I'm not actually a burden just for being here." ~ KNOCKknockLAHEY_420
I feel like everyone here needs a hug. All of you should know, you deserve to be here. Every life can change another. Remember that...
Tears
Tobey Maguire Reaction GIFGiphy"It's okay to cry and it does not make you a weakling. When sad times hit, you have every right to cry your heart out to heal your wounds." ~ unforgivablenope
Social Issues
"Other children weren't psychic, I'm autistic." ~ Thinkingwithportals1
"As a child, I missed a lot of social cues, I couldn't read facial expressions or body language (or even know that you're meant to do that). The other kids kept seeming to know what others were feeling or thinking, so the logical conclusion was that everybody except me was psychic." ~ Thinkingwithportals1
Take my word for it...
"Lots of things. I actually can make it in the real world. I am not doomed to failure because of who I am and the quirks that come with being me. I am not the multitude of nasty labels my father spewed at me. The whole world isn't filled with terrible people who want to take advantage of me, requiring me to always be strong if I don't want to get taken advantage of."
"I am not actually sensitive and over-dramatic. I was actually picked at, 24/7, and so that was why it was so easy to rile me up; I never had a chance not to be emotionally charged. I actually can cook. I am not, as my mother often hinted, naturally a bad cook. I could write pages and pages of this crap and I still wouldn't cover it all. Take my word for it, I've unlearned a lot." ~ EgyptianDevil78
Eat Less
"My parents told me to eats what's on my plate, now I'm fat, coz I don't eat til I'm full, I eat til it's gone." ~ racerboy661
"The thing I've found is to get smaller portions. I only eat until I've had enough, then I stop. If I end up throwing some out, at least it is a tiny bit since I got a small portion."
"If I end up wanting more after eating it all, I can go back and get another small portion. So my advice is cut down on portion size and eat until you feel full then stop. It is way healthier. Try for no waste but that's the idea behind small portions." ~ PoopLoofah
The Best Of...
High School College GIFGiphy"That just because I am not scoring at the top or going to the most prestigious college I am not not smart." ~ Imteyimg
Here is a lesson. Just try to be a good person. Sadly, in this day and age, that seems harder to do. And remember... our parents don't know everything.
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