Today is my birthday

I have been very contemplative this year.  It has been a year of ups and downs, a lot of work stress.

It's also been a year of growth, though maybe not in ways I expected.   

34 has been a year of learning.  And I think, 35 will also be a year of learning as well.  Because I am starting to realize, as the book title goes, what got you here, won't get you there.  And I have a long way to go, I realize, as I head into the next stage of my life.

But one of the best thing about life, right now and hopefully always, is the amazing and often surprising people who show up in your life to add dimensions to it you didn't think were possible.  And people will surprise you.  The ones you didn't know very well will turn out to be great people who add so much to your every day.  And sometimes people will drift way when you didn't expect, in ways you didn't expect.  But I'm still smiling, through it all.  Because what's life without a couple of surprises?