Wish New Isabella a mindful, miracle-filled, little bit zany birthday on August 24th!

...for helping to make my birthday mindful, miracle-filled, and a little bit zany. :)

I have been consuming a book called Fear and other Uninvited Guests since my birthday. Having been inspired by the author and her chapter on “The Secret Power of Shame,” I would like to mindfully share with everyone the miracle-filled and slightly zany fact that I am now 55 years old!

As the author, 58-year-old Harriet Lerner, put it, “getting older is my goal in life, the one upon which all my other goals rest.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
Hope it’s extended all week long and that you’re still partying : )

I celebrated my birthday at the blood bank too! Nothing like singing nurses and vein drain for a good cause. Good for you! I hope you had a joyful & delicious day.

I think giving blood on your birthday was a beautiful, miraculous, & maybe also slightly zany thing to do. Yay for you!

Here’s wishing you a year of peace, focus, victory over clutter, & deep blessings.

I hope you had a great day and have lots of leftover birthday cake! :D Happy Birthday!!!

Hope you had a wonderful day :)

Dear Isabella, I hope your birthday is every bit as special as you are. May all your wishes come true!

New Isabella is one of the few people on 43 who have been to Coudersport. That’s actually how we first “met” each other here. She said some really flattering things about me here, but like a true Virgo she’ll understand that I don’t see the same things in me. Instead I see the strength and friendliness in her that have charmed me so much this past year that we’ve gotten to know each other. Here are my wishes for her for the coming year:

May she accept the things in her environment that she cannot change, and change (e.g. declutter) the things in her environment that she has control of (even if it means when in doubt, throw it out). May she refine her resume, write a spectacular cover letter, and send it to the right company so that she gets the job that is right for her. And may she help her family remember the positive memories of Scott and overcome the painful memories of his loss.

May you continue to love the questions and live along into the answers, dear friend.

When I think about my wishes for you in the coming year, I’m reminded of – surprise! – a song. Canadian singer-songwriter Murray McLauchlan wrote this one for a New Year’s Eve celebration circa 1988: Let the Good Guys Win.

I change one word whenever I sing it: instead of “Not” at the start of the second line, I substitute “And,” because I don’t want to reinforce my Inner Critic’s unhealthy belief that I deserve anything less than the best.

May I get what I want
[And] what I deserve
May the coming year
Not throw a single curve
May I hurt nobody
May I tell no lies
If I can’t go on
Give me strength to try

CHORUS:
Ring the old year out
Ring the new year in
Bring us all good luck
Let the good guys win
(Repeat)

May the one you love
Be the one you get
May you get someplace
You haven’t been to yet
And may your friends surround you
Never do you wrong
May your eyes be clear
And may your heart be strong

(CHORUS)

May the times to come
Be the best you’ve had
May peace rule the world
Let it make us glad
When you see something wrong
Try and make it right
Bring a shadowed world
Into the bright sunlight

(Chorus)

Here’s wishing you a happy birthday and the neatest and most organized of years to come.