This is the year I turn forty.
I’m rather excited, and I have plans that I
need your help with. But first, the explanation:
***
On the way home from another woman’s fortieth birthday bash
recently, my husband turned to me and asked, “What do you want for your fortieth
birthday?”
And I wasn’t sure what to answer.
I can usually buy for myself most of the “stuff” that I
want. And the things that I can’t buy—time, patience, sleep, etc.—can be
carefully worked in to life but can’t really be given as gifts. (Though my husband, Brice, is
always excellent at working in extra time for naps and alone time around my
birthday.)
Parties? Gifts? What did I really want?
***
A couple years back on Twitter (I think) I saw someone make
a comment about how women turning forty come into their powers and should
celebrate by running wild with the wolves, that sort of thing. And for a while I
kind of envisioned doing something immense and wacky for my fortieth. But to be
honest, I’m not a run-naked-in-the-moonlight kind of gal (plus, egad, all the
prickles here! and the summertime snakes! no running naked in the bush,
thankyouverymuch).
I spent a lot of time wondering what I really did want to do.
What would make me the happiest? I have lots of swirling thoughts, but I have condensed
some of them down to a few actionable items, and I need your help to make them
happen.
So what do I want?
I want to support my friends in their creative endeavors.
I want to support the creation of things that bring
beauty into the world.
I want to support things that bring joy into the world.
I want to be a creator of some of that joy—or at least
contribute to its creation.
Here’s
how you can help:
1. Sell me something beautiful. Or charming. Or quirky
and fun. Are you a maker of something? Crafts? Art? Photography? ... Something
else? (Not books, we’ll get to books in a minute.) I want to know about things
that you (or your children or spouse) make. Or I guess I’d also accept things
that someone you know makes, if you think they’re wonderful (but I want to
stick to people I’m closely connected to; don’t just tell me about a cool
creator you ran across on Youtube).
Tell me about the thing you make. Give me a link (if you don’t have an online store, send me a picture!). I can’t buy everything, of course, but I can buy some things. So tell me so I have lots of options to choose from! As a sidenote, I’d especially love to hear about why you create what you do—this isn’t a sales pitch, I am just excited to hear your stories.
2. Author friends: Tell me about your favorite book by a different author friend. I have no doubt your books are amazing (and, given that I buy a LOT more books than I ever manage to read, I probably have already bought one of your books), but I want to hear you brag about books by your friends this time around.
3. Tell me about a mutual friend who could use a gift. In theory, I could be buying several items, and I may not be keeping them all. Who knows? (Not me. I have no idea if this idea is going to really explode or totally tank.) But, as my 13yo decided this year for her birthday, I want to at least sort of celebrate “hobbit style” (by giving gifts to other people). So who needs some extra love via a silly small gift? (Tell me this privately please, via messenger or email or something).
4. Make a video and share your love of simple things!
Are you a pet rock enthusiast? Do you love telling people about your favorite
dinosaur? Have you just been waiting for someone to ask you about how to
___________? Now’s your chance! Pretend I asked, and send me a short video (1–3
minutes) about something you adore, something that excites you, something you
think is just plain wonderful.
It doesn’t have to be professional or fantastically edited
or anything nifty. Just something you love. I really, really want to hear about
it.
So, if you are inclined to help me celebrate my fortieth birthday in the way that would make me ever-so-happy (and will hopefully make you happy too), then help me out! I would appreciate it a lot.
