I recently became the “answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”! In other words, I turned 42, and, once again, Jen Hatmaker was right!

I find that I am still fiercely in love with my forties. I cannot fully explain just why I love it so much, but I do believe that part of it is that there is a freedom that I feel in being in my forties.

A freedom to do as I want, to speak up for what is right, to enjoy what I enjoy without any need to explain myself to anyone.

A freedom to remove things from my balance beam that do not serve me or bring me joy.

I do not mean that I am avoiding hard work (I do plenty of that), only that I am practicing more discernment over how I am spending my energy and who/what I am spending it on. I do believe that it is helping my anxiety, thankfully. I only wish that we could see a direct correlation between laughter and its efficacy on one’s health. If it were so, I and several of my dear ones would be damn near medically perfect after a recent get-together. There was so much happiness, such a sense of joy and, for me, comfort in laughing belly-deep with some of my favorite people for hours. I shall definitely have to do that again and soon. It was simple, it was fun, and it was just what I wanted.

It was the most perfect celebration of a joyous birthday. I look forward to learning more and more as I go, for the love of my forties.