A quiet birthday, A loud reminder.

For three consecutive years, I have forgotten my birth date. I would remember that it’s in April, but I felt it didn’t matter. This affected my celebrations of other people’s birthdays because I wouldn’t remember it at all.

The challenges of life can be so overwhelming that you wouldn’t remember the things that matter. To think I used to be the person that knows everyone’s birthday offhand. Every day was a day special, and worth celebrating was how I used to see life, but I got drowned in my life’s challenges that I forgot to celebrate my little wins such as being alive.

There was a time when my friends dared not miss my birthday because I wouldn’t miss theirs, and if they did, we would have a problem cos how do they forget? It would mean that I didn’t mean anything to them. I would maintain a distance and stayed angry at them until they realized what they did and atone for their sins. Eh eh. I could be that petty. But, many years later, I swam in the sea of forgetfulness.

We entered the new month, April this year, and one of my close friends called me and said, “happy birthday in advance, babes”, and I replied, “Oh, it’s truly April, my birth month” and concluded with a weak “thank you”.

To me, it was just another year of nothing worth celebrating especially because many things have simultaneously happened that have kept me grounded somehow, however, I missed out on the little things that mattered and made me happy through it all.

Two nights ago, I got a message from one of the banks I used. It read, “Happy Birthday to you”, and with my eyes half awake, I said, “wait, what’s today’s date?” oh, it’s April 6 actually, so, truly, it was my birthday. I turned my phone off and slept.

I woke up in the morning feeling indifferent, even though the day did feel special to me kind of, but I was in the middle of indifference. I began my laundry and five minutes into it, my phone rang. A long-time friend from secondary school had called to wish me a happy birthday. I was shocked. After his call, many other calls came in that kept me in shock because it seemed I was the only one not seeing how special the day was for me.

I logged in to WhatsApp and I was met with my picture all over the timeline. I mean, people actually celebrated me when I didn’t even upload a clue about my birthday. Rather, I had a meme on my status that indicated nothing, but then, people did remember.

I checked through some of the status updates, and I instantly felt cold chills. I mean, I was so drenched in uncertainties, that I failed to realize that I was always a happy girl who cherished every moment and captured as many of it as possible. I realized that I have kept memories and have been very happy in my life, but rather than seeing all those happiness, I chose to burden my heart with the saddest years of my life. Damn!

At the end of the day, my kid brothers celebrated my birthday in a little, but grande way. I mean, it was grande to me, because I expected nothing. I was so happy yesterday when I got a cake, a parfait, and a bowl of ice cream from my brothers. It was such a happy moment for me. Very happy.

Moving forward, I have decided to return to the happy being that I am. I have vowed to remember to celebrate even the tiniest wins of my life. I have chosen to smile as bright as always, and my birthdays, they will be worth celebrating because every birthday even though is a reminder of how closer I’m getting to the grave, I choose to see it as one more opportunity to fight, thrive, and be successful. Doing that, I will have the chance to be grateful to God for preserving my life, to people for celebrating me, and to myself, for staying strong and happy, nonetheless.

Happy birthday, Omobola Monsuroh. I love you till eternity.
Images are mine.

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