How SWEET it is!

Hello 40!

I’m here. Forty years and shining.

I can’t remember the last time I looked forward to a birthday as much as I have been looking forward to this one.

To me, 40 feels like a definitive line in the sand, marking a moment in life where I take it all in…my past experiences, my glories, my ambitions, my loves, my upward swings, my downfalls. All of it, I want to drink it all in and let it make the whole of me.

My birthday celebrations have included a number of events. Today was spent with my daughter doing what we love most: eating sushi, book shopping and a finishing it all off with a few scoops of decadent ice cream. Tomorrow will be a fancy dinner out with some of the best women I know: my aunt and her daughters.

My husband and I had a mostly romantic dinner at the same place we celebrated our 10th anniversary seven years ago. Because of a babysitting glitch, our son came along as a third-wheel while our daughter got to spend the night at a friend’s house. As we deliberated over pan-seared sea scallop appetizers and prosciutto wrapped bone-in pork chop entrees, our four-year old complained his grilled cheese was taking too long to cook in between coloring dinosaurs and eating all the bread they had brought to our table.

I couldn’t imagine a more fitting way to usher in 40.

And then today, a box of candy showed up along with two books offering advice for the newly-turned 40 year old. I don’t know who sent it, but I love the gift. I love it so much that I’m making it my totem gift for my fourth decade.

Here’s hoping my next ten years bring nothing but sweet surprises!