Reflections

Birthday Wishes

It’s my 45th birthday today.

4-5.

Take that in. That’s half a lifetime.
Officially middle-aged.

Possibly too old for a short skirt.
Hopefully not too old for cake.
Definitely too old for … nothing.

I could still go out to a club.
I could still join the Peace Corp.

I could still write a book.

Only one of those things do I really want to do.
You can guess which one.

I didn’t blow out any candles today.
But a lot of kind people blew good wishes my way.

Friends, family, coworkers.
Connecting with them is the best part of having a birthday.

I’m so grateful for another birthday to celebrate. And a birthday with my honey in the desert.
Long live birthdays.

My 5 New Year’s Resolutions

“Happy New Year!” A biker shouted as he passed us on the hiking trail.

“I’m not into the whole New Year thing are you?” Doug asked, as he stepped aside, obviously annoyed.

“Kinda,” said the woman who had been ruminating on her New Year’s resolutions for days.

“I mean, for how long do we have to keep saying Happy New Year anyway?” Doug asked.

“Grumpy New Year!” I called out to no one in particular.

“You know,” I said. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be a better person, having a fresh start, and feeling optimistic about the future.”

I was feeling defensive.

People make fun of people who want to lose weight, get their life in order, and make some better choices at the New Year but my god, what’s the point if we can’t have hope that things might change for the better at least once a year?

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Reflections on 2020: The Year of the Pandemic

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What this year has shown me is who is selfish, and who is not. Who reaches for denial in the first step of the grieving process, and who reaches for anger, and who reaches for sadness. It’s shown me that America is resilient. Our political systems held in an election tested like no other. Our hospitals have withstood being overcrowded with critically ill patients. Our cities withstood protests that sometimes escalated into violence. Our society has self-reflected and changed (though not nearly enough) when faced with the ugliness of systemic racism.