Birthdays are a Big Deal, At Every Age
I love birthdays. I love having them and I love celebrating other people’s. I’ve always assumed my love of birthdays had to do with cake. I love them all. Dark chocolate, milk, caramel, almond, berry, coconut . . . you get the idea. But as I get older and work on eating less cake, I still absolutely, unequivocally, believe birthdays are a big deal. At every age.
As we get older, the focus of birthdays may shift from presents, to friendships, family and contemplation. But taking this day to celebrate gives us a chance to pause. Was it a good year? A not-so-good year? What do i want more of in the year ahead? What do I wish for less of? And how can I make these things a reality?
The only bad birthday decision I’ve made
My husband and I got married on my birthday. The getting married part was a good decision. It was the doing it on my birthday that was questionable. As we’ve already established, birthdays are a big deal. And so are Anniversaries. Given this, it would probably have been a better decision to have separated the two events. That way, the celebration could have spanned two separate days of celebration.
This is a great example of the wisdom that comes only with lots of birthdays under your belt.
Birthday traditions
Birthdays tend to take on patterns that repeat but shift over time. Early-on, it’s family, birthday parties, games, and gifts. Later on, friends, partners, and spouses may take center stage. All are good. All represent phases of our lives.
Still, I’ve discovered I have three birthday nonnegotiables: Birthday cake; something to unwrap; and Frozen Peach Daiquiris.
Growing up, my birthday cakes were spectacular. I had cakes of every flavor, any kind I desired, and they were always decorated in the most perfect metal-tip/pastry bag sort of way imaginable. My mom’s snail borders, rose petals and trailing vines were infamous. The only thing more beautiful was slicing into the perfect layers, separated by a thick layer of frosting between each.
There was always a special request dinner that preceded the cake but secretly, once dinner started, I was always in a race to the cake course.
Peach daiquiris are a big deal
Before dinner, it was usually the gift unwrap while the adults (and lucky birthday children, who got to have a sip), had Frozen Peach Daiquiris.
These were my dad’s specialty. He was the peach guy in the family. He could speak to Colorado vs. Georgia peaches, cling vs. no-cling, and why the yearly treats absolutely, positively needed to be bought in bulk, in a crate. It’s all about the ethylene they produce. The crate would rest on the fireplace hearth in the kitchen, each peach wrapped in its small square of tissue paper.
My dad did very little in the kitchen. A fried egg sandwich every now and then, a broiled peanut butter and bacon, open-faced sandwich. That was pretty much it. But he manned the blender on Peach Daiquiri occasions.
A simple recipe for a perfect frozen drink
The recipe for Frozen Peach Daiquiris couldn’t have been simpler. Blender, half a peach (these were prized fruits and we never used a whole when a half would suffice), a can of frozen limeade, and a bit of rum, ice. Usually a ‘filbert‘ in the bottom of the glass.
What’s a filbert? It’s what we call a hazelnut. In the UK, they refer to them as filberts. The naming is thought to relate to St. Philbert’s Day. This is a holiday celebrated on August 20th, and lines up with the usual harvest time for filberts. I’m not well-versed on the meaning of St. Philbert’s Day, but I do know a filbert that’s soaked in the bottom of a Peach Daiquiri is a true treat.
Structure and suspension are a big deal
My mom was all about the crumb structure in the birthday cake and my dad was all about the ice structure in the Daiquiris. He said it was because there was an exact moment in time blending had to cease. It was when the ice had been ground to the exact right size for adequate suspension and optimal melt in the Daiquiris. I do not know if he was correct but I do know his Daiquiris really were the absolute best.
The prized peach is a big deal
When we’d near the end of the second layer of peaches in the crate each year, the conversation would turn to how many Peach Daiquiris we should freeze. This was another beauty of this recipe. A half peach could be frozen in limeade and kept in the freezer for mid-winter Peach Daiquiris. All that was needed was a slight thaw, rum, ice cubes and the blender and we would be transported back to a summer August evening.
I still buy a crate of peaches every year. And we marvel at how they always taste far better than any singular peaches we could pick up at the grocery. I still freeze a few batches of Peach Daiquiris every summer so when we want to, we can be transported back to August, even in the middle of the winter.
What do I wish for more, and less of this year
Of course, there are always wishes for the future. But one of the things I’ve noticed is each year my wish becomes simpler. No longer do I make a wish and blow out the candles with visions of a multitude of gifts. I do love unwrapping a gift, but a few well-chosen surprises is all I need.
Now, I hope for more adventures and the good health to enjoy them. I think of spending time with our kids as often as their busy lives allow. I think of the continued wish to have both a birthday and a wedding anniversary to celebrate. And this is why birthdays are a big deal, at every age.
