055
Sunday, November 22, 2009 what a difference a week makes ...
the light is fading earlier and earlier, the leaves are crumpled down, lost beneath the freeze of winter's smile. it is only the beginning but i am feeling ready.
am also feeling ready for this year. last year i turned 40 and today i turned 41 and as i reflected on the past year i realized what an adventure it has been and i have grown so incredibly much in subtle ways that might only be really apparent to me. actually subtle might be the wrong word, its just that my changes have been very much inner changes.
the first year of this decade found me meditating and embracing exercise again and running. running! i mean i even participating in a race and am determined to do a small triathlon this spring. i feel like i am starting to find some discipline and at the same time i am noticing how much calmer and relaxed i am inside.
i am writing more and am moving outside of my safety boundaries and am trying new things, just because they make me happy. i am enjoying my job more, it helps that i said yes to a change in that regard and have found myself really enjoying the work i am doing. i am re-evaluating my business and rethinking how i want to go forward with it. i am living, really living in the moments that i am blessed to have been given.
i am finding my wings while still managing to stay grounded into the earth. i think my forties are really quite lovely and i look forward to another year of this sort of growth, this comfort i am finding in my skin, in my mind, this realization that i am so much more than i ever gave myself credit for, this slow growth of confidence and realization that i like who i am.
peace.
p.s.
the unadorned face of 41,
Reader Comments (13)
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Darlene,
Happy Birthday to you!!!!!
You look marvellous honey.
Hope you had the best day evah!
xoxoxoxo
Well...how about one more Happy Birthday Dar!!! (I already got you on Flickr and Facebook) Here's to flying with your feet on the ground...to creativity...and the sheer beauty of living a life.:-)
xoxoxoxo
happy birthday, beauty*
happy wishmaking.
happy new year in your dear life.
happy dreaming.
happy living.
you are a treasure.
i am grateful you were born.
sending a kiss on the cheek of your perfectly unadorned face.
love, love.
41 is the true beginning of the 40's---and I fully sense this year/decade for you.
You have a tremendous spirit---it speaks through your eyes and infectious giggle-grin.
When I met you at Squam, I was able to put a face to the name of the writer who shared so much in a single email in July
and I wanted to say---gosh---your honesty made me feel at home and I wish pain/loss didn't have to be part of your story
instead, I watched and shared meals and smiles and a heartfelt/tearfelt hug on the sommer's stairs
and I remember your eyes and infectious giggle-grin
" I'm so happy" you said again and again
may that be a repeated phrase for you this year!
happy birthday, darlene!
Happy Birthday, Darlene! I feel exactly the same way about this decade--getting older but wiser, more confident, more brave, more open. So glad you feel it too. Enjoy it and enjoy your birthday week! xo
Happy Birthday. You're so beautiful.
Delightful Darlene, Such a lovely post.
I, too, am having a similar soulful ride into my 40s. Glad for you your looks are holding out better than mine!
I'm happy to have met you this year.
May the feeling and beauty of this post prevail for the rest of this decade, at least.
You are an inspiration.
Much love to you.
Annette
Happy belated birthday, beautiful you! i love you big time :) xxxx
and what a beautiful face it is.
happy birthday darling
i adore you
xo
happy birthday, beautiful!
i think you are the bees f'ing knees :)
happy happy happy beautiful birthday, my gorgeous friend!
ahhhhhhh...
happy belated birthday to a beautiful girl...
inside and out.
:O)
Oh......I SO missed it. Here I am on the last 19 minutes of being 35 forever. ( Well, technically, if I think of the TIME I was born, I've got a bit more to hold on to.) Here I am wishing you the most BELATED of all belated birthdays (I am so clumsy at keeping up with blogs) and you were so very early in wishing me a happy one. So I humbly apologize for my clumsiness and my lateness, and hope that it was a beautiful day for you (no doubt, I'm sure it was.)
You are radiant at 41 in your unadornedness.
love to you xoxoxo