Last Sunday was my 40th birthday. I made no big deal of this. No party. I was out of town, in fact. But I will admit that being on this side of that birthday feels more “different” than I thought it would.

I did get a chance to have a quiet brunch with some family friends on my birthday, and they gave me some books of poetry, which was a wonderful gift. I will try to share relevant pieces on a regular basis, and I will start with this one, as it has to do with time (something you think about once you’re 40!) and getting a clearer picture about what you need and need to do. This is an excerpt from “Mind Wanting More” by Holly Hughes:

But the mind always
wants more than it has—
one more bright day of sun,
one more clear night in bed
with the moon; one more hour
to get the words right; one
more chance for the heart in hiding
to emerge from its thicket
in dried grasses—as if this quiet day
with its tentative light weren’t enough,
as if joy weren’t strewn all around.