A birthday homecoming

🎂 39 and feeling fine.

A few celebratory words...

***

Another turn around the sun

You’re different than you were six months, one year, one decade ago

You’ve been making your way home

Home is love; the house is you

This house has always been yours but not loved as your own

A “be back soon” sign took up residence

Your devotion was sparse and inconsistent, rendering parts of the house unrecognizable

We always knew you’d find your way back

Here you are, home for good

The “be back soon” sign is in the bin

There is nowhere else you’d rather be 

You get more comfortable here each and every day

You bravely explore the dark and dusty rooms

You open cabinets and drawers to find what’s been long-forgotten

You look around and see what’s been in plain sight but hidden under layers of neglect, false fear, and unworthiness

You open windows

Shake curtains

Let light in

It’s time to update and re-decorate 

A coat of paint won’t do

Your house is ready to be fully expressive 

The bones are good, as is the layout

It's ready to be the house you’ve always wanted

The house that’s always been yours

Welcome home.

***

My first book, OPEN, launches in a few weeks, and I finally feel ready for it. One year ago, I could not have written the above or even believed it. That makes this birthday "homecoming" so sweet: a one-year journey full of moments that felt like the bottom of a pit and the swirling of a storm.

Here's to experiencing the sweetness of life as we crawl, walk, run, sprint, tumble, and fall along the way, year by year.