Trares
The lights have dimmed, the gifts have been opened and the holiday music has been packed away.
The festive whirlwind of Christmas has passed, while the New Year’s Eve celebration looms just a day away.
This is a week when people collectively catch their breath, enjoy some downtime and gear up for the coming year. Kids are out of school, and many adults use up left-over vacation time to relax. Between the rush of Christmas and one of the biggest party nights of the year on Dec. 31, no one really wants to do much of anything this week.
Which makes it a challenging time to have a birthday.
As a holiday baby, I’ve always been wedged between those two end-of-the-year behemoths. That wasn’t supposed to be the case; my parents weren’t expecting me to arrive for a few weeks, well into the first months of 1980. But the Christmas season is all about surprises, and on Dec. 29, 1979, there I was.
Whenever someone finds out my birthday comes just days after Christmas, the first question they have is always, “So do you get cheated on presents?” In their minds, Christmas and my birthday just congeal into one mega-celebration.
But that was never the way it was growing up. My parents were always very good about making sure I had my own distinct day, even if we were still cleaning up wrapping paper and unpacking Christmas presents. We had a special dinner (always at the pinnacle of dining in my mind: Pizza Hut.) There were gifts and cake and a movie night.
When I grew older, I could have a few buddies come along with me — those who were in town, at least. Even in college and as a young adult, friends and family agreed to go out for a night of fun, even if they were already exhausted from partying.
Now that I’m all grown up (kind of), my family has kept that tradition alive. My wife and Anthony make sure that I feel special.
Don’t get the wrong idea. I’ve never expected to be in the spotlight for a whole day; as an adult, that idea seems even more silly than it did when I was a kid. But it feels good to get a little special treatment too.
I turned 44 this week. The day started with a five-mile run — a little gift to myself to start this next trip around the sun on the right foot, so to speak. I nosed around the best Indy record store, Luna Music, to pick up some new vinyl for my collection. We all ate at my favorite restaurant.
As an added bonus, it just so happened the Ohio State Buckeyes were wrapping up their season in the Cotton Bowl that night, so everyone agreed to let me take over the TV for the night to watch.
It was a great day — a bridge between two major holidays, stretching the best time of the year into a week full of fun.
And I can’t wait to see what my 45th year has in store.
Ryan Trares is a senior reporter and columnist for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
