Things I Love About Myself: The 44th Birthday Edition

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Today is my 44th birthday! Happy birthday to me! As I was journaling this morning, I started a list of all the things I’ve done during my forty-four trips around the sun, but making that list actually made me feel icky. I paused, reflected, and realized I was reducing myself to my accomplishments. Accomplishments are nice and all, but are they really the measure of my worth?

I went to hot yoga. As I stretched and breathed, I thought, Maybe I should write a blog post about forty-four things I love about myself. That felt good. That felt right. So here I am, and here I go!

Forty-four Things I Love About Myself

  1. My sense of humor
  2. My creativity
  3. My resilience
  4. My willingness to do the work – and by “work,” I don’t mean the things I do as a mom and writer, but the work I do to become the best possible version of myself
  5. My capacity for change
  6. My eyebrows
  7. eyelashes
  8. and eyes
  9. The way I mother Pippa and Julian
  10. My connection to the Unseen and divine
  11. My inner voice and compass, guiding me along this crazy magnificent adventure of life
  12. My ability to turn the mundane into an adventure
  13. My hormones – look, they have given me hell (I’m looking at you, postpartum depression) but they also made it possible for me to create two humans and how bitching is that?
  14. Speaking of postpartum depression, I love that I found the strength to kick PPD in the ass and have shared my mental health journey publicly to help others and combat the stigma of mental illness
  15. The fact that I am out of fucks
  16. My self-esteem
  17. But also my new efforts to let my ego crumble
  18. My curiosity and never-ending sense of wonder
  19. My playfulness
  20. My strength
  21. and power
  22. and unique voice
  23. My willingness to admit my mistakes
  24. and awareness that I have blind spots, and am constantly making mistakes without knowing it
  25. and that I use my mistakes to become a better person
  26. My zest for a good project!
  27. My capacity for solitude
  28. and my ability to connect with other people while being my authentic self
  29. My knees! I’m forty-four and they are going strong!
  30. The enjoyment I get from a cup of cheap coffee
  31. My acceptance of the fact that I’m going to spill something on myself Every. Single. Day, so white just does not belong in my wardrobe
  32. But who needs white because I love color!
  33. My willingness to take whatever medications I need to feel my best – hello, Zoloft, thanks for all your hard work
  34. The way I feel when I’m in the flow of writing and the words glitter as they pour out of me
  35. My focus and attention
  36. My energy
  37. My hands for bringing me so much joy – knitting! writing! cooking! painting! gardening! holy shit, hands are awesome!
  38. My introspective nature
  39. I AM A NERD
  40. The joy I take in learning
  41. I am guided by strong beliefs but I also question those beliefs and make sure they are actually mine and not some bullshit thrust on me by society
  42. My feelings – okay, this is a work-in-progress, but I am getting better at accepting, navigating and welcoming my feelings.
  43. I’m a mighty fine cook
  44. As a lifelong bookworm, I just need a book to have an adventure