Fantastic Birthday

Well yesterday I had my birthday. I am in my mid-30's and I am not very happy about it. Not for the usual reasons, loss of youth, yearning for the past, my own mortality, starting to look like shit.... Nope. I just am tired of getting older. I would prefer to just not get any older. Not for any of the reasons I listed- but just because segmenting my life into years seems strange. Phases seem to make much more sense.
Kid phase
Tween phase
teen phase
young adult
adult
old adult
dead.
I think that is enough- celebrate the passing of each with the events that make them so. I passed from young adult to adult as soon as I had a kid.
I plan to move to old adult once my kid has left the house. I do not plan on dieing but I expect it will happen anyway. These events should be marked with large parties and some mourning for the past. But to see life slip away year after year is almost like self torture. My life now changes based on my son's advancement. As for me there are minor changes in life but nothing major beyond what happens with my family.
So as you can see- if life stays pretty much the same except for the major events that mark it why do we have birthdays?
GIFTS. I really think people like getting gifts. I know I do so I guess that makes birthdays OK. Also getting treated like I am special is very nice. It makes me feel good. Funny thing is that I feel special every day when I am around my family. So yeah, gifts.
My wife spoiled me as usual (so did my sis and my parents). I do enjoy the special treatment.

So I guess in conclusion I enjoy the special treatment but I do feel special all the time. Random gifts would be cooler than a set time for them.
History is marked with wars, our lives should be marked with major events. Birthdays do nothing but make us remember that we are mortal, after all.