Because I'm not getting laid, a.k.a. why birthdays are important to the Single girl.

A birthday is an incredibly important day in a single girl's life. At no other time of the year is the single girl celebrated. There aren't any perks that come with an anniversary, and you certainly don't get any lovin' on Valentine's Day. And those random acts of kindness that your significant other does for you throughout the rest of the year---you know, "flowers just 'cause" or "special date night" or "whatever-the-hell-people-in-love-do-for-each-other-that-I-wouldn't-know-about-because-I've-been-single-for-so-freaking-long"---the single girl misses out on all of that. As Carrie Bradshaw would say, when you're single, you get "bubkes." The only chance I have for any sort of action (that'd be attention) is my birthday. One shot. One opportunity.

The further I journey into my twenties as a singleton, the more I realize that my parents, my brother, my extended family, my got-married-straight-out-of-college friends (not all are included, mind you) and many of my married co-workers look at my life in puzzlement. Quite simply, they don't get me, nor do they get any of my other single friends. In their eyes, we are the rejects of society that couldn't manage to snag a mate, and therefore, we must be dying to spend all of our time catering to their desires and fulfilling their requests. And what else more important would I have to do with my time???

I love it when preachy comments are made to me about "real responsibility" and "the burdens of marriage and family." Please. We make choices in life, and we live with the consequences---both good and bad. Marriage and raising a family is very hard and very important, and I don't make light of that. But I don't know of any happily married couples with kids that would give it all up just to be single again. They may envy my "freedom" for a few minutes, but no way would they go back. And lest we forget that marriage is a choice, and so is sex, and the use of contraception in sex.

Singles are constantly making sacrifices for non-single parties and their life choices. I have no problem with this. I am happy to re-arrange my plans if I can help out or if I am needed or wanted. I want to be there for the people in my life that I love and that I care deeply about.

But, where do I draw the line? Once, just one day of the year, I would like a "get out of jail free card." And that day is my birthday. I don't expect for anyone in my life to roll out the red carpet---but I do expect them to make an attempt to understand why my birthday is so important to me. And it would be nice if they respected that I'd like to spend my birthday celebrating my own life choices, not theirs. Laissez-faire, already.