It’s my birthday today. And I can’t remember ever feeling such overwhelming gratitude for life. It’s overflowing, even now, as I sit on my couch, with nowhere to go because we made the decision to stay home and honker down. I feel complete, cherished, and protected.

Forty-nine feels wonderful, as wonderful as twenty-nine felt but with lots more growth, gratitude for my life and journey, much more peace within, and more love in my heart.

Among the many lessons, this COVID pandemic has regurgitated is the resilience and adaptation of my human spirit. While growing up in my small village of less than three hundred people, time spent alone was a way of life. It’s how I learned to love my own company and talk to myself. Well, I saw my grandmother talking to herself a lot. So I’m ok with forgoing the RV trip and chilling on the couch this birthday.

Without a doubt, those early life experiences seeped up to the surface on the onset of the pandemic. And I took great comfort in embracing them. Even though it feels lonely. I’m not suffocating from spending time alone. In fact, this time has allowed me the opportunity to find new, meaningful ways to spend my time. Everything under the sun is for a time, including my precious life. So for all the days I will spend on this earth, I will do my utmost to live my best life.

Happy Birthday, Dixie! Cheers to me and may more solar returns!