The cards have started appearing in my mailbox. My birthday is very close to Halloween. Sometimes, people send me the ones colored orange and black with cats and witches on the front. They read Happy Halloween Birthday!

The thing is, Halloween was my mother's birthday. People still get them confused - wasn't I born on Halloween? Nope. But that's okay. Close enough.

My husband was born on Christmas. Yes, his birthday is on December 25th. He gets Merry Christmas Birthday cards, Happy Christmas Birthday cards, and all his life, a birthday cake decorated with tiny brown plastic reindeer or red and green icing or candy canes. As an adult, he got the cake decorated with red poinsettias. Odd looks from the baker when a request was made to pipe "Happy Birthday" on the cake top.

 Holiday birthdays can be confusing! But as I get closer to qualifying for Medicare, I'll take all the birthdays I can get. When ever I can get 'em. And cake. Any kind of cake. As long as it's fresh. And chocolate.