A Pamela Looks at 40

It happened: I turned over a new decade in this humble life I lead.

I embraced it. I think birthdays are wonderful things, and a reason to celebrate. I completed another full revolution in this world, and that is amazing. Every year we have on this world is a gift, and should be celebrated joyfully.

My birthday itself was a relaxed and wonderful day. I stayed in bed late. I had the day off from making lunch and coffee, so I lingered and read blogs on. And then I went for a run: 4.25 miles for 40 years. That’s not so bad! After my birthday run, I relaxed in the bath and read a cheesy book. Then I headed out to get some coffee and breakfast, and treated myself to a pedicure.

The pedicure was experience was…interesting. The “massage chair” got a little too…intimate. I felt violated, I confess. I think you should warn someone before you unleash a chair on them that takes such liberties! The little guy who did my pedicure had unattractive nails himself. And he took my shoes away to the front of the store, leaving me in the chair farthest away from the door. Excuse me? You don’t expect me to walk over there barefoot, do you? I could see hair on the floor. Ew.  My shoes were returned to me, and the day continued. Thankfully. At least my toes turned out nicely! And such a bright, luscious hot pink.

What’s a girl to do next with an entire afternoon sprawled out in front of her? Go shopping of course! Mostly it was browsing, but it came with some success. I found a couple of books at the Goodwill, and I found a bookcase I like at Wood Castle furniture. And M said yes to the bookcase. Woot! Now I just need to order it/them. It/They will be just the thing for my cookbook collection! And then I just poked around Corvallis Furniture because I had been curious for a while. And they actually have some cool stuff in there.

Then I finally returned home. I made some popcorn, poured a cocktail, and settled in to watch a girly movie. And then some Project Runway. On the BIG TV. Not a bad afternoon!

And then my love came home with pizza. And I had wine and pizza, and settled in for cheesy television with my honey. He even dashed out on his lunch break to get a little cake from the French bakery that we enjoyed together. And he put candles on it and kind of sang to me. It was sweet and it was lovely.

And then the fun continued on Saturday. I had my first ever real birthday party with friends and drinks and snacks and an AMAZING cake. We played Cards Against Humanity, which was…enlightening. It was a mixed group of my Grooties and M’s friends from college, but it worked. I had fun, and everyone else seemed to have fun, too.

I am here another year. Cheers!

I am making a life.I am not making a living.

I aspire to making a life. I made a living for myself for years, and I wasn’t necessarily happy about it. That’s life, though, right? What we’re here for? Do your job, love it or hate it, pay your bills, acquire stuff, go places, die. What about those dreams we had when we were children?

I have a job. My job is to write every day. To get that book written. My job is to take care of my husband, which sounds so archaic and anti-feminist, but if I get to opt out of making a living, then gosh darn it I’m going to make his living better. I cook and clean and launder and garden and shop and take care of household things. I tell him when he needs more socks and make his eye doctor appointment. It feels a little silly, but I don’t take this lightly. Or, more to the point, I’m learning not to take it lightly.

I’m working on setting a work day for myself. Typically it looks something like this:

• ·         Wake up. Lie in bed reading phone until 7:30 or 8 a.m.
• ·         Get up and shuffle downstairs to make coffee and husband’s lunch. Maybe I’ll have some breakfast.
• ·         If it’s a running day, I run.
• ·         RWE: Read/Write/Edit.
• ·         Lunch.
• ·         Housework.
• ·         Relax: read blogs or read.
• ·         Make dinner.
• ·         Spend the evening with my husband, which may or may not include knitting while we watch television.

Yes, I work weekends. I still slack off sometimes, and I know it's going to happen. Some days I will spend far too much time reading. Some days I go on a field trip. Some days I’m sucked into the internet. These things happen, but I keep on shuffling.

Weekends? I want to work on more craft projects on the weekends. Sewing! Knitting! Crocheting! Stuff! Listen to podcasts! It’s a great thing to be learning and doing. It feeds my brain and I feel less stupid than if I just sit in front of the TV all day.

So I’m starting a blog. Blog about writing and housewifery and running and making and reading. These are the things I do every day. I want to keep it positive. I want to focus on making a happy life.

This is my life.