As my 33rd birthday approached, I thought about
the last year and started mentally composing this.
I did a lot while I was 32. I gained weight and lost weight,
grew hair and cut hair; my skin got less elastic and I found a couple more gray
hairs. My kids grew up and I gave birth to my fourth, and it was the
happiest and most relieving day I can remember. I spent a lot of time making
food and making milk and cleaning them both off of kids and out of kids. I gave
lots of baths and did lots of laundry but was not able to keep the kitchen
floor mopped as often as I thought it should be. I listened to a lot of Old Time
Radio programs as I cleaned the kitchen, over and over, and finally painted the
music room and the powder bath and the upstairs bedrooms that I had been planning
to paint since we moved in, and it made me feel like I had finally taken
ownership of my house. I bought a serger that I’d been thinking about for years
and I love it. I made lots of clothes and finished several projects. I weeded
the garden bed I planted 2 years ago and let grow over last year, and now I’m
ready to plant again. I read several books that I loved and some that I didn’t
love. I taught lots of piano, guitar, violin, and viola lessons and also
publicly performed on piano, guitar, and viola, and I was proud of myself for
that. I went camping and swimming and roller skating and ice skating. I spent
one-on-one time with each of my kids and felt our love grow for each other, and
spent lots of time with my husband and felt as happy and comfortable as ever,
and proud of myself for making such a good choice in marriage and lucky to have
found him. I spoke lots of Spanish and memorized the Greek alphabet. I didn’t
travel farther than a couple of hours away by car, but I saw and did and
experienced new things. I felt joy and sorrow and fear and comfort and
anticipation and regret and love. I made mistakes and learned from them and did
some things well and learned from them too. I saw and recognized ways in which
I’ve matured and was embarrassed at my previous immaturity. I did my best all
the time, but I was kind to myself too.
Altogether, I think I am kinder, wiser, smarter, happier,
and better than I was a year ago. That’s a year well spent, and a really good
life. Let’s have some more.
