Last year was the big one. You can read my various posts on the topic, such as my DONE list, my 40 lessons learned on the way to 40, and my hopes for the next decade.
This birthday — Thursday this week — is a milestone plus one. It’s kind of fun to read through these older posts and think about the updates. I have run for an additional 365 days straight. We did some international travel with the kids this year (St. Lucia, the Bahamas) and some interesting domestic travel (Yosemite is amazing). I am still not reliably sleeping through the night because I am 8 months pregnant with baby #5, which is certainly the biggest development in this first year of my 40s. I am writing fiction, having spent November editing another novel, with a reasonable draft now finished.
In any case, I don’t have big birthday plans. I’ll spend a chunk of it in a hotel room and on an airplane. It’s my last work-related flight before I go into no-fly mode. There might be ice cream cake this weekend. I’m not sure. I’m thinking forward to next year, when I can picture an 11-month-old baby starting to toddle around. We will have to decorate the tree differently, and no more Lego Advent calendars left on the floor. Will we have renovated the attic? Stay tuned! Life keeps changing — but generally in fun ways right now, which I am grateful for.
If you’re reading this and thinking “hey, I’d like to do something for Laura’s birthday!” would you consider rating and reviewing one of my podcasts on Apple Podcasts? You could also rate/review one of my books on Amazon, BN.com, Goodreads, or wherever you post about books. Thank you so much for considering it!
Dear Laura, I send you the best birthday wishes from Riesa in Germany🎉🎂😊! I’m reading the third book of you now and absolutely love your work! Your blog is great, too, so much work you put into it! I enjoy it a lot. I read your books while breastfeeding my 5 month old twin boys (number 3 and 4) and they gave me a different view (positive!!!) about the time to come, when I I work again as a dentist. I wish you all the best for the coming year, good health and a little time to focus on your little baby inside your belly, before he is born ❤️❤️❤️ Love, Anke
@Anke – aw, thank you so much! I’m so glad my books have helped you have a different view about the time to come with work and your little ones!
Have a great birthday! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us so generously.
@Connie C – thank you!
Happy birthday! It’s my birthday today too. I’m also non-milestone, and at work, but I did receive notification that I got an important grant for my research so that feels celebratory. Grownup birthday present, I guess.
@Erica – congrats! That’s huge! Definitely a grown-up birthday present.
Thanks for sharing your journey with us!
@Phil- thank you for reading!
Happy Birthday!
@Marthe- thank you!
Laura would love to hear what you decide on renovations. My husband and I have gone back and forth on doing something with our attic but I’m concerned about the possibility of a. living elsewhere while they work or even worse b. Staying in the house and dealing with workers traipsing through day in and day out. If you hate renovations as much as I do then I’m betting you move! 😉
@Lori C- I do hate renovations, but moving has its own problems. And unfortunately, there are very few houses out there where we wouldn’t have to renovate something! So it’s either do our current house or another house, really…
Happy birthday one day late! I turn 40 in January, and I’m so excited. I told my husband that instead of having a birthday month, it’ll be a birthday year! Can’t wait to dive into your milestone posts. 🙂
Happy birthday!! I would love a perspective on how you feel ready to do the baby and toddler stage all over again, especially with how tough sleep wise baby 4 sounded! I’m in the throes with a 6 month old and 2.5 year old and am just so tired all the time that I would love some perspective that being an older, more experienced parent brings!