When I was a small girl, I would get a birthday card from a lady simply known as “The Birthday Lady.” I remember getting one every year. When it was near or around my birthday, I had come to expect it. Although there were no computers to remind us of special dates, it would never come late. It would either be a week early or just on time. Every year, she had to physically write MY NAME on her new calendar. That means that she probably didn’t just think of me on my special day. She probably thought of me while she filled out her new calendar for the year and through the entire month of September. The cards that she sent were simple, pre-made cards, with no extra handwriting. The signature “The Birthday Lady” was scribbled at the bottom.” I can remember laying on my bed analyzing the signature, hoping to get a glimpse of who this mysterious woman was or what she was like. My imagination took me everywhere…
That was more than 30 years ago, and I still have no idea who she was. I am sure that she was a client/friend of my mother’s, and I am sure that if I asked my mom today, she would be able to tell me her real name. I enjoy the bit of mystery and fairytale in not knowing who she was, so I will never ask; however, I will also never know why she would send me a card every year without revealing herself to me. Even though I did not know her, she became very special to me, because she did this one thing that made me feel special. To this day, there is not a birthday that passes me by that I don’t think of her. Maybe a small part of me is still hoping to find her special card stuffed in my mailbox letting me know that she still remembers who I am.
With today’s technology, it’s so much easier to stay in touch, or is it? Now on birthdays, instead of mailing old-fashioned cards, we leave a voicemail, send a text, or maybe even send an e-card through email. I have reminders set on my phone that tell me when it’s someone’s birthday, and I see reminders on Facebook, so instead of flipping the wall-hanging, paper calendar and thinking of them all month long, I am only reminded when my little alarm goes off on the exact day of. Then I quickly send a text or email letting them know that I am thinking of them at that exact moment in time. Yes, I am guilty as charged! What would happen if I suddenly sent a simple, pre-made card to someone through the USPS? What if I went a few steps further and actually took the TIME to pick out a very special card just for them, filled it out with a personal note, signed it and sent it in the mail with a handwritten address? Do you think the impact would be the same as it was from The Birthday Lady when I was a little girl, or would it simply be viewed as annoying to the receiver, who has to actually walk to their mailbox? We can be assured that, with today’s technology, it is most definitely impossible to stay anonymous, such as The Birthday Lady.
This Birthday Lady obviously made a big impression on my life, and all she simply did was remember me once-a-year on my birthday. She never sent a gift or put money in the envelope. She never spent any time with me or called me on the phone. It was a simple gesture that made me feel very special, a card with a simple signature. I am positive that she had no idea how much of an impact she was making that would carry me through to my adulthood. When I think of her, I wonder if it would be possible that I could anonymously impact someone else’s life in the same kind of way.
The Birthday Lady left her signature on my life. What’s your signature, and whose life are you leaving it on?
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