--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After age twelve, birthdays should be as…" description: "\"After age twelve, birthdays should be as private as hernia surgery.\" — Erma Bombeck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/erma-bombeck-780_age_after-age-twelve-birthdays-should-be-as_1111597.png" --- # After age twelve, birthdays should be as private as hernia… ![“After age twelve, birthdays should be as private as hernia surgery.” quote by Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/erma-bombeck-780_age_after-age-twelve-birthdays-should-be-as_1111597.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/erma-bombeck-780_age_after-age-twelve-birthdays-should-be-as_1111597.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/erma-bombeck-780_age_after-age-twelve-birthdays-should-be-as_1111597.png) > “After age twelve, birthdays should be as private as hernia surgery.” [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Birthdays after adolescence become private, akin to a personal medical procedure. **In simple terms:** Adult birthdays should stay private. Key Takeaway Respect personal boundaries for milestones. Themes privacy boundaries humor aging Mood lighthearted reflective Type humorous observational When to use this quote - family gatherings - social media - celebrations - personal milestones Key Concepts social norms personal privacy Questions to Reflect On - Why keep milestones private? - How does humor soften personal topics? A Different Perspective Some may view privacy as avoidance of sharing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthday/) [Birthdays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthdays/) [Hernias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hernias/) [Surgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgery/) ## Related quotes > [There will be birthdays in the next twelve months; books keep well; they're easy to wrap: buy those books now. Buy replacements for any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-blount-jr/there-will-be-birthdays-in-the-next-twelve-months-books-keep-well/) [Roy Blount, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-blount-jr/) > [A comic should suffer as much over a single line as a man with a hernia would in picking up a heavy barbell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/a-comic-should-suffer-as-much-over-a-single-line-as-a-man-with-a/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [My kids scotch tape worms to the sidewalk and watch the birds get hernias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/my-kids-scotch-tape-worms-to-the-sidewalk-and-watch-the-birds-get/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Telling a writer to relax is like telling a man to relax while being prodded for a possible hernia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/telling-a-writer-to-relax-is-like-telling-a-man-to-relax-while-being/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [I've gotten hernias from drummers when they drop tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-ve-gotten-hernias-from-drummers-when-they-drop-tempo/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [The difference between EAZY E the artist and Eric Wright the human being, was two separate worlds apart. Behind closed doors, Eazy-E was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kokane/the-difference-between-eazy-e-the-artist-and-eric-wright-the-human/) [Kokane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kokane/) > [The rule of thumb for the old backpacking was that the weight of your pack should equal the weight of yourself and the kitchen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-f-mcmanus/the-rule-of-thumb-for-the-old-backpacking-was-that-the-weight-of-your/) [Patrick F. McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-f-mcmanus/) > [If you don't have a hernia yet then you're not pulling your own weight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steinbrenner/if-you-don-t-have-a-hernia-yet-then-you-re-not-pulling-your-own-weight/) [George Steinbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steinbrenner/) > [If any of you get hernias in this tug-of-war against the Army, I'll pay to get them fixed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-haebel/if-any-of-you-get-hernias-in-this-tug-of-war-against-the-army-i-ll/) Robert E. Haebel > [Not only weight loss surgery is unnecessary but also it deprives human being a normal life. People after surgery would never be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subodh-gupta/not-only-weight-loss-surgery-is-unnecessary-but-also-it-deprives/) [Subodh Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subodh-gupta/) > [A preacher was operated on for a hernia. As this was about the time of the first world war he was given ether. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-linkletter/a-preacher-was-operated-on-for-a-hernia-as-this-was-about-the-time-of/) [Art Linkletter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-linkletter/) > [I told my kids, "Someday, you'll have kids of your own." One of them said, "So will you."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-told-my-kids-someday-you-ll-have-kids-of-your-own-one-of-them-said/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [By exercising your stomach muscles, you wring out the body, you don't catch colds, you don't get cancer, you don't get hernias. Do animals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pilates/by-exercising-your-stomach-muscles-you-wring-out-the-body-you-don-t/) [Joseph Pilates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pilates/) > [My boy is a mean kid. I came home the other day and saw him taping worms to the sidewalk, he sits there and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/my-boy-is-a-mean-kid-i-came-home-the-other-day-and-saw-him-taping/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Computers are scary. They're nightmares to fix, lose our stuff, and, on occasion, they crash, producing the blue screen of death. 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Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? 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