June Birthdays

June is a big month for birthdays in my family. Many of my close relatives have June birthdays to include my mom, aunt, sister, sister in law and nephew. Even yours truly has a June birthday, today in fact! Of course, I can’t forget the other important June birthday in my life…the U.S. Army which turned 246 this year.

Perhaps June as a popular month for birthdays comes from our ancestors attempting to time childbirth in temperate summer months rather than a harsh winter. Or perhaps it is just because June sits smack dab in the middle of the calendar and folks get board in the winter.

Regardless, I am understandably partial to June birthdays. Not only do my mom, sister and I have birthdays in June, our birth dates are all within eight days! Made for an enjoyable and festive week during summer vacation growing up.

I’ve mentioned in previous blogs that as a child, my family didn’t give into my every want. More accurately, they couldn’t afford to! That being said, they did a good job of making birthdays and Christmas extra special. I was always very excited to open a birthday present or see what Santa left under the tree!

There is one notable exception. My 10^th birthday has become known in our family as the “star wars” birthday and not necessarily in a positive light. For my birthday that summer, I received the Star Wars video disc. For those too young to know about video discs, this blog’s featured pic is the very culprit. I am not exactly sure what I was hoping for that particular birthday, but the disc wasn’t it! 

The disappointment is evident in the pictures from my 10^th birthday. I was fighting back tears! Of course a few years later we had a great laugh about the whole thing. Ever since, receipt of an unwanted or otherwise disappointing gift in our family is known as a “star wars” birthday (or Christmas).

Eventually, like most everyone, I came to realize birthdays are less about the gift and more about a celebration of life. Many cultures recognize this important distinction early on. I’ve been fortunate to share this aspect of birthdays with my extended family in Korea.

One year birthdays are big celebrations in Korea. Also elder birthdays are cause for merrymaking. These traditions stem from ancient customs born of practicality. Years ago in Korea, making it to age one and especially to age 70 was quite the challenge. Definitely a reason to celebrate!

I think it takes Americans a little longer to realize the celebration of life aspect of birthdays. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes losing someone close to us in order to realize how precious birthdays really are.  

By the time we reach adulthood, most of us have accepted birthdays, while certainly an occasion for celebration, also provides a time for solemn reflection about those we’ve lost and a heartfelt thanks for yet another year on earth.

Those of us who served in the military know all too well how precious birthdays can be. Not only do most of us remember our fellow brothers and sisters who were gone too soon, we’ve all celebrated a birthday or two where just making it home was our only birthday wish.

As I get danger close to 50 on my birthday today, I can’t help but think of those I’ve known and lost. I am very thankful for each and every day of these 48 years I’ve been blessed to receive. And as the song goes, I am prayerful “for many more”.

Still a lot of living to do as I start on the back slope of mid-life. I am very excited about the future. Not necessarily my future, but more so about sticking around to watch my kids blossom into adults. I think their lives are starting to get a lot more interesting than mine!

So to all the fellow June birthday folks out there to include the United States Army, Happy Birthday! While I am a little biased and think June is the best month for birthdays, I know any day is a great day for celebrating the gift of life.

Next week, I’ll shift gears to reflections on some “Leading” topics as we move towards the celebration of the birth of our nation.

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