Day 39

Once upon a time, long long ago, I went to a staff birthday party thrown by my department. The birthday party was during the lunch hour when the office is closed. At the party, there was food and treats, decorations and a game or two. It was totally over the top, completely unnecessary, but a wonderful break from normal office drudgery, and our spirits were lifted for the rest of the afternoon. Later that year, I went to another birthday party in my office, but this time, it was for everyone who had a birthday between Thanksgiving and the New Year. You know, because of the holiday and everything, it was probably best to just put them all together. But the party was fun, and we had wine and snacks, and chit chatted for an hour or so. Then, the clouds began descending upon the fair land of California, and birthday parties became simplified versions with just a few muffins and some orange juice left on the counter for passersby to enjoy and shout a quick "happy birthday" to the special person. From now on, so I've heard proclaimed by the receptionist, we are going to have some bagels and coffee from the kitchen every three months or so, about once a season, to celebrate and honor the birthdays of everyone born during those months. And could everyone pitch in a few dollars?

We really can't spare a few dollars to bring a little sunshine into this place to have some cake and ice cream for the 12 staff birthdays we have in a year? Seriously? Some feel that the birthdays are silly and wasteful, particularly during the furlough. I remember seeing a huge union banner at a staff picnic that read, "we want living wages, not free sandwiches." Realistically, the cost of a few treats to say happy birthday to each other doesn't even come remotely close to the huge budget problems we are facing, so it seems a little silly, to me, to make the comparisons. And maybe we don't need to have actual birthday parties, but some snacks and an hour of goof off time once a month or so hardly seems wasteful, especially when we could all use a little cheer. Maybe I'll just show up to work one day with a little party in a few grocery bags, and start a celebration myself.