Does Your Birthday Make You Nostalgic Too?

Every year as my birthday approaches, my nostalgic tendencies surge a bit. Does this happen to you too?

There’s something about birthdays that seem to be a cornerstone of childhood memories. Maybe it’s the photos. As a child of the 80s and 90s, my milestones were captured on film not phones — and the milestone I picture the most is my birthday.

A recurring scene featured me sporting a pointy and colorful birthday hat with a big cake in front of me and my family observing my over-the-top, center-of-attention antics. Generally we are outside soaking up the summer weather, and I’m usually grinning ear to ear in a way that looks more like a tiger growl than an actual smile. (It took me a while to figure out what smiling was supposed to look like!) I look incredibly happy in these photos. I’m about to get dessert and presents after all.

As an adult, birthdays sometimes feel like a weight to carry instead of a celebration to enjoy. I’m not sure if this is a natural part of getting older, or a product of all the cultural noise about what you’re supposed to achieve by what age. Maybe it’s a little bit of both. There’s a sense of “time is fleeting” that gets stronger with me year after year. Instead of that being a negative thing—the ephemeral reality of life—I’d like to celebrate that today. Time is fleeting. And it is a wonder and a joy just to be here at all. Especially when we get to have cake and ice cream.

Here’s a zine I made about my favorite childhood toy. I can’t remember if I got Sheri Mouse as a birthday or Christmas present. But since she was such a quintessential part of my childhood and it felt appropriate to share it with you today.

What was your favorite childhood toy?

Let me know in the comments or reply to me directly via email!

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for everyone who participated in my “Which superpower would you choose?” poll last week! The winning superpower was “the ability to pause time” over “not needing to sleep” 80% to 20%. It turns out sleeping is pretty great! If you missed that post, you can check it out here.

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