Neglected, as always

My cousin and his wife put together a nice family calendar each year, with all of our birthdays and anniversaries marked. We’re a rather large group, so this helps us all keep track of who celebrates what and when.

Now, my birthday is on an awkward date. If it falls on a weekend, as it did this year, it ends up being Memorial Day weekend, so most people are out of town or preoccupied with other things. Therefore, it’s always nice when people remember to wish me a happy birthday. I certainly didn’t expect ALL of my family to call/email/send a card, but, I thought to myself, surely my four sets of aunts and uncles would mark the occasion! Especially since they’ve had almost a whole month of seeing it on the calendar! And definitely to celebrate a milestone birthday of their youngest niece!

Well, the day came and went, and three of these couples did congratulate me on another year well-lived. The other pair? “Well,” I thought, “they’re older. Maybe they misplaced the calendar. Or perhaps they put it somewhere out of the way. I’m sure they have a reason.” You see, this is just how understanding and forgiving a person I am.

Cut to three weeks later, and I’m celebrating Father’s Day with this particular aunt and uncle. I say something about how my birthday had just passed, and my uncle says, “Oh, yeah, I saw that.”
…
…
I’ve since come to find out that they keep the calendar on the fridge. I can just imagine the conversation they had back in May:
"Oh, look, M Slash’s birthday is this Saturday."
"Really? How about that...what do we have coming up next week, anything?"