'Lonely' Mom's Response to Husband Forgetting Her 27th Birthday Cheered
Internet users have rallied around a woman who revealed that her husband forgot her birthday recently, leading her to go out and buy her own cake to enjoy all by herself.
Reddit user u/MOMismypersonality, whose real name is Taylor, shared that her husband had forgotten her 27th birthday. Although she wasn't overly angry about the error on his part, it certainly ensured that she won't want to think about this birthday in years to come.
The post read: "Husband forgot my birthday. So I went out after everyone went to sleep, bought myself a little cake and a candle, and sang happy birthday to myself." The woman admitted that it left her "feeling really lonely."
Without even a card from her husband, Taylor and her family attended a baptism for her brother's baby on her birthday. Once they got home in the evening, everyone went straight to bed, clueless as to what they'd forgotten. "I assumed there'd be a card or something for me when we got home, which was late, and everyone went to bed instead," the post continued.
"I also just want to say that I understand that birthdays aren't important. No, we're not getting a divorce. Yes, he's a good guy that made a mistake."
Since her Reddit post went viral with over 12,000 votes, Taylor spoke to Newsweek about having her birthday forgotten. She said: "I don't expect a ton for birthdays, just a hug or a card or something. I wasn't expecting a party or a present, so it's not that big a deal, but to have it forgotten completely is what hurt.
"My brother knew the baptism was on my birthday, but there are only so many Sundays in February and his in-laws were only here for that one. He did wish me a happy birthday over text on the morning of!
"After the baptism, we had a family get-together at my brother's house and it went on pretty late. We got home around 8 or 9, and everyone went down shortly after. So I told him the next day that yesterday was my birthday and then he looked at his phone for a minute to check."
After the birthday faux pas, Taylor's husband has been trying to redeem himself and give her a belated birthday celebration. "He apologized and promised that we would go out this weekend—he felt really bad. He helped the kids make me a card and he made reservations for dinner this weekend."
This Reddit user's husband might not be the only partner who skipped out on the birthday presents. Licensed mental health therapist Kiara Luna has spoken about the ways couples can make amends.
"Most of us will agree that it can be very hurtful if your husband forgets your birthday. if your husband forgot your birthday and you feel hurt, disappointed, resentful, or any type of negative emotion, it is absolutely important to bring this to your husband's attention," Luna told Newsweek.
"The purpose of this conversation should be to feel heard and understood by your partner."
Luna encouraged partners to "take accountability for how they made their partner feel" if they forget an important celebration like a birthday. Once both partners have communicated their feelings about the situation, Luna suggests a nice way to move on would be to plan a surprise or get a thoughtful belated gift.
Even though it's a difficult situation at present, Luna said that "you can strengthen your relationship and build a happier and healthier future together" by learning from this.
Fortunately for Taylor, people on Reddit made her feel much less lonely and gave her plenty of celebratory birthday messages since she shared her post on February 6. After receiving over 1,000 comments on the video, Taylor edited her Reddit post to add: "Thank you for all the kindness. I went to sleep with a smile on my face. It truly uplifted me the perfect amount."
Asked about the reaction she received to her Reddit post, Taylor told Newsweek: "It helped so much more than I thought. I was just lonely and the world had gone to bed, so I thought I was venting into the void. But hundreds of people left sweet messages and it turned into the happiest of birthdays!"
While many Reddit users offered sweet birthday messages for the 27-year-old, others offered amusing ideas of what she could do in retaliation. One user wrote: "Happy birthday! I hope the cake tastes good and the candle burns brightly! And leave the crumbs on the table for your husband to see tomorrow morning."
Another Reddit user commented: "As much as it would hurt to have people forget my birthday, I totally recognize that many of us have busy brains and just don't put the date and the meaning together. So to prevent this kind of thing from happening, I always talk about my birthday leading up to it."
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