Thoughts On My 35th Birthday

I’m turning 35 in three months. ‘Three’ has always been my number, and for the most part I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my thirties. But 35 seems big – extra. 

I’ve never celebrated my birthdays in any extraordinary way. I don’t count down the days until one. I like for them to arrive, land, and pass without a lot of fuss. 

Yet, without even an invitation, 35 has crept into the smallest empty pocket of my mind and become quite disruptive. 

“Will we be having children?”

“Where is Female Mind Unleashed going, really? I mean, we’re in our mid-thirties.”

“Another inch closer to 40. How does our retirement look? Is it time for a raise?”

“Well, it’s official! Our youth is gone!”

“I hope you know that TikTok is just the beginning of all the new tech we will never understand.”

It seems like this next year will be an opportunity for me to get more intentional about my plans for life. Of course, I’ve got to make space for the universe to show up with its own ideas, too. 

I’m still not so sure, but I think to quiet 35 down I’ve got to do something to honor all the work these previous years have done. 

One thing I do love to do is create a playlist of all my favorite tracks. It varies each year, but it’s something I can revisit that doesn’t take a great deal of effort to put together. 

Maybe this year I’ll bake myself a cake. The layered ones, that send beautiful rainbow candies spilling out all over the cutting board when you slice into it. 

Maybe that will be enough to satisfy my mind from wandering further into the future, if only for the day.

Are you a celebrator? Or a reflector? Maybe a bit of both?