It was a big year.
42 was the year I made the decision to leave my job. A dream job in a lot of ways (not so much in other ways). At 42 I made the choice to leave steady employment in order to reconnect with my life outside of work; as much a leap as it was a decision. I was without a plan (something I’d often advised others not to do) and uncertain about what was waiting for me on the other side. All I knew was that I wasn’t accessing the better parts of myself, wasn’t actualizing my potential, and wasn’t all that happy.
42 would be the year I set out to reclaim all of that.
I leapt like it was a mosh pit.
I grew a garden. A big one, with the help of some new and wonderful friends. I traveled to visit my family. Twice. I saw wild alligators for the first time. I felt a connection.
I started to adjust to a slower pace. Really enjoyed the newly freed space. I took long walks, ran a little when it felt right, listened to an obscene amount of podcasts (#earhustle), and spent a good deal of time being quiet with myself.
I challenged myself to commit to 30 days of radical self-care. I made feeling right with myself a priority. Confidence and clarity began to show up more often.
I made space for new things and new opportunities. I spent a lot of time outdoors, in the water, in the sun. Started to feel my inner California kick back in. I love her.
“Lean back” became my new life’s bumper-sticker.
I made time to hang out with each of my kids.
I fell in love with a sentence. “Note to self, I’m gonna make you so proud”. I started to internalize that.
I nurtured connections with fellow dreamers and doers. Creative expression as a lifestyle and as a business began to manifest. Angie, Elior, Yosef, Tali B, Ilan, Efrat, Keren, thank you.
I began to build a professional team and sharpen my skill as a storyteller, delighting in the junction of words and pictures and their uncanny ability to communicate complex ideas.
I began to make more space for giving back and rediscovered the joy of being in the service of others, doing work that matters.
I learned that I can be a committed, traditional Jewess and actively contribute to messaging at the Tel Aviv Pride Parade. I never doubted that but finding others who didn’t doubt that either…that was a beautiful thing. @We is a powerful ideology.
I made more time for relationships.
I spent more time with my man. We hit the dessert.
I made time to go surfing with my oldest daughter. We chased more than a few waterfalls, hiked the Banyas, Nachal Elal, Gamla and up the face of a mountainside in a village, I cannot pronounce, let alone attempt to spell. 42 baby!
I made time to make art and eat fish and chips for lunch and dinner with my second daughter on a two-day jaunt to Jerusalem in the middle of a workweek.
I traveled to the States with my three youngest, we swam, laughed, chilled. We thoroughly enjoyed it all.
I read a lot, memoirs mostly. A few impacted me deeply, “Educated,” “Shoe Dog,” “Born to Run,” “Just Mercy”. I became a more active student of Seth Godin. Added Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks to my daily playlist.
I spent a few full days and nights with girlfriends. Hiking, poolside, beer festivals, food trucks, music, music, music. I made good on the knowledge that a full tank of gas, the open road, and a full day ahead is a balm for my soul.
It was a full year. A blessed year. A year of shifting and growing. A year of being brave. A year of good choices. A year of deeper connections.
A year for which I am extremely grateful.
43…here I come, baby.