Thursday, April 11, 2013

36: A Year in Review

I can't believe it has taken me an entire year to write about what happened to me on my 36th birthday. Last April 12th, I woke up to an email from one of the carpenters from FoodNetwork's Restaurant Impossible. He had seen my Etsy store and wanted to know if I could make him ten of the wine bottle hurricanes I had for sale. Here he is. Lynn Kegan. He's in really good shape by the way...surely he frequents the gym....


The show didn't air until August and by that time, I'd lost some major steam on the Etsy thing. Here are a couple shots of the bottle hurricanes in the renovated restaurant space:


The same day I got a call for the Etsy order, Mr. W and I went and bought a new couch. And that weekend, we threw a great wine and cheese party to celebrate the completion of Mr. W's last movie project. It seemed like 36 was going to be a great, easy-peasy year. 

And then on April 19th, our friend Pete died. And everything changed. 

It's strange how it still doesn't seem quite real that he is gone. I still picture him walking through our front door from time to time. I guess he probably does walk through that door and I just don't see him as clearly as I used to. 

Losing Pete broke open this strange sense of urgency and impermanence and clarity.

I think Mr. W and I both started looking at life differently and felt like we needed to make some important changes. So 36 became the year of change. A constant ebb and flow of undefined, yet wholly palpable change. 

I found myself feeling my way through the year, using my gut and my heart as my guides.

I enrolled in a life coach training program after ruminating on it since 2008. Mr. W and I bought our dream house. We began the never-ending process of packing up our current life and transporting it bit by bit to a new one. We got comfortable with the fact that we wouldn't be seeing each other a whole lot over the next year or so. We scheduled a multitude of flights between LAX and Vancouver. I made friends with all sorts of interesting people in Martha Beck's program. I did my first oyster shooter. I learned new ways to deal with stress and paid more attention to the small joys. I did a lot of crying and a lot of laughing. 

I feel very ready to go into this 37th year, even though I know now that there's no telling where it will go. The unexpected will creep in again and again. The change spin cycle probably won't stop. 

But that's all part of the ride. 

And this aging lady is finally beginning to be at peace with that.       

8 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday! You've had a very big year with some major high points and sad points. I hope this next one kicks butt for you!

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  2. I read a quote the other day that said something like "we experience the real magic of life when we allow the unexpected to change us." Seems to me you've had a year of that.
    Happy birthday, my lovely friend!

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    1. Boy oh boy is that true. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  3. You've had quite the year. But, it feels like every year I've known you has been BIG in one way or another. Maybe your 30s are just a big decade! In any case, hope you have the happiest of birthday celebrations!

    (BTW, "I did a lot of crying and a lot of laughing" ... yeah, that pretty much sums up this beast of a week!)

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    1. The best way to combat the crying is with the laughing, right (and cocktails... :) I think the 30s might be a big decade. Things have been pretty crazy 'round here since I entered it.

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  4. I know how you feel about the "spin cycle". The last twelve months for me have certainly had their share of highs and lows. I'm glad your gut has given you good guidance, as mine seems to be resolutely silent on the big decisions I have ahead of me!

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  5. I think I saw that episode! How cool! It's kind of fun to get older, because it's kind of fun to slow down and appreciate life. I don't think we could do it any sooner, you know? That kind of knowledge comes with age and experience.

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Well, whatdya think?