Today is my last day of being thirty-two.
Birthdays aren't a huge thing for me, but I do approach them the same way as a new year or new season - with reflection and a bit of calm, intrinsic "looking forward".
So, while this is primarily a writing and reading blog, today I'm going to be a bit personal, and look back at some of my favourites of thirty-two.
My thirty-two favourites, to be exact.
In no particular order:
1. Publishing The Girl with the Empty Suitcase. My book launch for it.
2. The first time I held that book in my hands.
3. While writing it, there was one afternoon where I wrote for almost ten hours straight. My hands ached for two days after, but it was glorious.
4. I read a lot for fun. I didn't love them all, but I liked most of them well enough. I've never read that many - fifty - in one year just for fun, not related to school or work or classes in any way. I don't know how many was while I was 32, and how many were in the couple weeks of 2017 before my birthday, but that's still a lot.
5. I watched a lot of awesome movies. One thing I'm going to track this year are all the new movies I watch. Star Wars holds a special place in my memory, and every January, when we watch the Oscar Best Picture nominees. And every January we also go to a film festival with my in-laws, which is one of my favourite weekends.
6. Teaching. I love my job all the time, and like it almost as often.
7. Spending time with friends and family and animals. So many awesome little weekends and moments. Watching hockey with a cat on my lap. Reading with a dog sprawled against me.
8. My new kitty, Auri.
9. Learning to scuba dive. I was terrified, but it was a great experience.
10. My bucket list item for 2018 has already been crossed off: Last weekend I went dog-sledding. That was everything I wanted and more.
11. Snowshoeing by moonlight.
12. Seeing Finland through the eyes of my students, and seeing them mature and experience and learn through travel. Especially those who had never been on a plane before, those who hadn't been out of the country.
13. Escaping the snow and cold into the airport, snuggling up at the gate to wait for the late-night flight, landing and falling asleep in a pool chair immediately after getting to Mexico at Easter.
14. Definitely the Jane Austen ball. Oh my goodness, that's one of my favourite experiences ever, not just of 32.
15. Jamaica. Playing pool games and meeting others. Laying around a pool or on the beach. Spending time with my favourite person in such a lovely setting.
16. Attending my first "comic-con". It was so much fun. I had no idea I'd love it as much as I did.
17. Riding in a helicopter. I doubt I'll ever do it again, and I know I haven't before. We went up over the mountains, and the day was clear and incredible. What a way to view such beautiful landscapes. And, bonus: I didn't get sick!
18. Seeing students achieve something incredible. Right now, for example, my grade 12s are working on PSA videos. Anytime I get to see students achieve something, I freak out a little. In a good way.
19. Mornings in the hot tub with a book. I love vacation and weekend days when I get to do that. Actually, "Happy Reading Days" in general.
20. My new tattoo. I got a turtle on my foot, which I wanted for years. I love it.
21. Coffee in the mornings at work with my work friends. It's a great way to focus for the day, and on days we don't get to start that way, it affects my whole day.
22. Learning about cooking. Last night and tonight I'm taking a cooking class with my new instant pot. I love cooking and learning new things.
23. Taking some fun classes at Teachers' Convention. Besides learning about self-publishing, I was also able to create some pieces in a water-colour class. It was a lot of fun. Again, art and learning something new.
24. Craft fairs promoting my new book. I love Christmas. I love craft fairs. I love my book. In other words, I had a lot of fun!
25. Starting up this website and blog. It was quite a learning curve, but again, I learned a lot, and I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm still continuing to learn, and I love some of the things I've written.
26. Starting my second book.
27. Participating in the NYC Midnight flash fiction contest. I did much better than I ever anticipated, and really got to stretch my writing muscles. I never thought I'd write action, fairy tales, or ghost stories, but it was a lot of fun, and the feedback was quite valuable.
28. Hearing reviews from people about my book.
29. Spending time with family. My little brother got married this year, and it was great spending some time getting to know them as humans, not just as my little brothers and sister.
30. Honestly, so much about Jamaica was so lovely. It's going on the list again.
31. When we were on evacuation alert, so many friends and family members contacted me, offering help and seeing if we were okay. We were, and were not evacuated, but honestly, the experience (again!) of having to prepare, really shifts and highlights priorities, and having so many express their concern and assistance was really meaningful.
32. One of my very favourite things, not just this year, but every year, is to have a "pizza party movie night" with my husband. Couch + dogs + us + takeout + movie = one very happy me.
It was actually really hard to narrow this list down to 32. Even now, there are probably things I've missed that I've loved so much about being 32. Things about the past year that have meant so much, that I've enjoyed or learned from or just experienced.
I don't worry about turning a year older, but I do like looking forward and looking back. I wonder at what next year will bring, and smile at last year's remembrances.
Plus, quite frankly, self-reflection is a great motivator for writing!
How do you approach birthdays? Comment below or via my contact page, here, and don't forget to subscribe to my monthly newsletter while you're there!