2019, slightly late

I usually manage to post this sort of album for you during Christmastide. This year, I assembled it except for two pesky photos that wouldn't upload properly. And then the semester started and I got busy, so it didn't happen. Here it is!



But it feels right to post this album showcasing our last year today, the day after my forty-first birthday. I wrote to you last year about how scary forty felt. Forty-one feels...different.

I am relieved that I survived forty. Like I-woke-up-yesterday-and-breathed-a-sigh-of-relief relieved. Then I punched the sky and said 'Yeah! I beat him! I win!' (Keepin' it classy, I know.)

I feel lighter today than I did two days ago.

I am still in a frustrating state of career uncertainty. I've just gotten more used to it, which is not an improvement, really, just a reflection of the current reality of academic work.

I am bemused that I am the parent of an adult child. I mean, she's still in high school, but legally, she's an adult, and I'm super proud of her. And sad for Adam that he isn't here to see it.

I am, in short, a complicated, beautiful mess.

Thanks for sharing this wild ride with me.

Happy next rotation around the sun!