Planning ahead does not take into account the ways one’s life might change before those plans are executed.
For instance, if Statistics Canada is to be believed, I might not be around to celebrate my surprise birthday party, the one I am planning in years to come for a future major milestone celebration.
I have most of the details worked out in my advance visualization of how my surprise party will take place. I have a location in mind and the menu is coming together. I have a friend who will most likely be receptive to handling the decorations, another friend will be asked to design the invitations, and I have names for the guest list.
So what could go wrong with my plans? Well, perhaps the venue I have in mind will be pre-booked for my date or maybe that venue won’t exist when the year comes.
I envision the menu including a lovely dinner with a prime rib buffet with the meat sliced in front of all the guests. But by then, with the increase in the cost of beef, perhaps a tiny hamburger on a Buddy Burger-sized bun might take the place of my choice of tender prime rib. Such a disappointment if that happens.
Perhaps I should politely ask my friends if they are willing to commit their talents to a to-be-determined date sometime in the long-distant future. I should not assume they will be jubilant to get themselves involved in this odd project.
So what else could possibly skuttle my birthday party plans?
Well, let’s see: The guest list might require some revisions as the years pass, especially considering what StatsCanada recently reported.
That agency, in a newspaper headline, boldly stated “life expectancy for Canadians fell in 2022 for the third year in a row.”
That could mean, literally, the death of my party, especially considering the average Canadian’s life expectancy dropped to 81.3 years last year, taking it down from 82.3 years in 2019.
By the time the year comes around for my celebration, many of my proposed guests might no longer be with us. And that means, I too might by then have gone on to my Heavenly reward. Gasp.
What a way to throw cold water on one’s plans to celebrate in style with friends and family.
With all of this information available, and with gut-wrenching disappointment, there seems to be two solutions: have my surprise party for myself sooner rather than later; or disregard the news from Statistics Canada and continue to make my unusual plans.
I just hope my favourite singer/band leader will save the date for me and that he will remember the words to Happy Birthday.
Maybe he could phone and sing to me right now as I’m afraid if Statistics Canada’s numbers prevail, my partying days will soon come to an unexpected end.
Joyce Walter can be reached at [email protected]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
