Milestone birthdays are a big thing in my [30M] office, but my colleagues largely ignored mine. Am I petty?

I feel childish even thinking about this, but it has nagged me for a while now, so I thought I would air it out here.

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Birthdays in my office, and especially in my department of 5 people, are usually a pretty big deal. We flood the person's desk with the national flag (a traditional birthday symbol in my country) before they come in for the day. If it is a milestone birthday, such as a 30th or 50th, the company has a dedicated gift pool that pays for a nice present. In addition, a bunch of us join together to pitch in for a "colleague present".

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In the almost two years I have worked here, this has happened twice in my department alone. One of my colleagues turned 30 last year. A notice was sent out weeks in advance asking people to pitch in. We prepared decorations, we planned a time to decorate her desk while they were away, and the whole thing was a big event. Now, another person is turning 50, and it's the same thing. Balloons, flags, themed presents. I love helping to prepare these things, as it's fun and builds team spirit. I even baked a cake on one occasion.

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This year, I turned 30, and it just so happens that my birthday is during the summer holiday season. I myself was away on holiday the week of my birthday. When I came back, hardly anybody mentioned that I had turned 30, and there was no present from the company or my colleagues - even though quite a few people knew about it. One side of me wants to just say that this is what I get for being away, but none of the other celebrations we held were on the exact date of the person's birthday. It bothers me that no one made an effort to recognize my birthday when other people's are such a big deal. I can't help that it's during the holiday season - it is every year. I like to think that I'm pretty well-liked in the office. There are a few of my colleagues who I also consider to be my friends. Which is why it hurts a bit that it didn't seem to matter to anyone.

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It seems like such a silly thing to make a fuss about, so I haven't really mentioned it to any of my colleagues. Am I petty for letting it bother me?

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Thanks for letting me air out my thoughts!

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TL;DR: Colleagues make a big deal out of celebrating milestone birthdays in the office, with decorations, presents, and cake. No one made an effort when it came to mine.

Submitted November 28, 2018 at 12:24AM by FlingAfield https://ift.tt/2PYotZB