BERTA ISABEL ARIAS
author
Live, Laugh, Love
My Stories
10th Birthdays
What is a golden birthday?
I don’t really believe it exists.
Or does it?
Years ago when my now fifteen year old granddaughter was turning eight, she introduced me to the golden birthday concept.
I remember telling her that I knew of golden anniversaries but had never heard of a golden birthday. My granddaughter quickly explained that a golden birthday occurs when how old you become coincides with the date of your birth day, as was the case with one of her best friends whose birthday was on July 8th and she was turning eight years old. That birthday celebration then, was extra special, which translated to a bigger party and more presents for the celebrant.
It wasn’t difficult to understand my granddaughter’s sad demeanor as she told the story since her birthday falls on the first day of the month. Clearly, Fate had made her miss celebrating her own golden birthday when she turned one and knew nothing about golden birthday.
Mila perked up quickly, however, when I acknowledged the cruelty of it all, not only for her but two other grandchildren who had already celebrated their birthday without knowing it was a golden birthday.
I asked her to give me some time to think about a remedy to the situation.
And that was the birth of the Tenth Birthday Extravaganza for my grandchildren.
Since my oldest at the time of that conversation had just celebrated his ninth birthday, I decided that my version of the golden birthday would be to allow each grandchild to choose a destination for an eight to ten day trip with me.
The fun I’ve had with each of the tenth birthdays!
My oldest chose exploring Arizona, from the Biosphere and Kartchner Caverns to Petroglyphs Preserves and the Grand Canyon.
My only granddaughter (and inventor of this golden birthday idea) chose New York for its museums, art galleries and theater performances.
Grandchild number 3 chose North Carolina via Savannah, Charleston, and the Outer Banks with wild horses and surfing.
Grandchild number 4 chose viewing pandas, museums, Japanese gardens and U.S. history in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.
My youngest chose....
Ruse or not, I am glad my granddaughter told me about the golden birthday celebration since the result has been to create memories none of us will ever forget.
What a hoot each trip has been as I’ve spent days in one-on-one time with each of these special people in my life.
I wonder what our next grandparent-grandchild adventures will be in the decades to come… and perhaps the golden birthday will be a tradition continued in future generations.