Sunlight streams through the blinds as enthusiastic dog kisses wake me. It's a perfect Midwestern morning - crisp air, cloudless sky, no cicadas. As I sip my Nespresso, I remember: I'm 47 today! How did nearly five decades slip by?

My morning mind is groggy with my late-night reading and immediate re-reading of Miranda July’s All Fours. What a perfect book to read on my 47th birthday! More on this later after I finish my second reading. Total pleasure. Wow.

Reflecting on the past year, some pretty big changes. Like retiring from my first career (BigLaw partner) and launching a second. I also lost my 15-year-old dog child — and before he passed, I adopted his sister, who is the sweetest little love bug.

There have been a lot of changes! This upcoming year, I want nothing more than to write, walk my dog, volunteer, and occasionally work out. Sometimes, I think about working part-time as a lawyer because I really miss many aspects. Maybe that is on the horizon. We will see.

At 9 am, I sit down to write, give up when the landscapers swarm my tiny HOA, go for a glorious one hour dog-walk, do a little online shopping/Pinterest-pinning for fairy lights, lemon-scented candles, and Liberty of London silk bedding. Try to read The Artist’s Way but can’t focus with the mowers. Then off to a 1 pm Moroccan birthday lunch with my mom and oldest nephew, where we sit outside in the perfect weather and laugh and eat delicious food, followed by birthday shopping with my 5 year old nephew for books, puzzles, stationery, journals and stickers at my favorite indie bookstore and paper shop.

It was a very perfect birthday. I am super grateful for all the love and joy in my life and for having the time and energy to balance taking care of my animal body, my soul, and my mind.

I also feel continuously “behind” on my Draft 4 revisions, blowing through self-imposed deadlines when “life” gets in the way. And there has been a lot of life lately (broken appliances and air conditioners, doctors appointments, blown tire, etc.) So maybe I will experiment with a writing sprint weekend to leverage my BigLaw brain and feel like I am making some progress.

And I know. Words take time. And good words, like Miranda July's - and hopefully mine - are worth the wait. I just have to get through the revisions, bird by bird.

Here's to 47. All the stories yet to come, and the beautiful, messy life in between.

This is 47

All Fours. Whoa. A book review.

First Time