I was born in a snowstorm the day before Easter 49 years ago. I have no problem with my age; I celebrate every milestone. That year, like this year, was an early Easter. This year, my birthday falls on Good Friday, and while I no longer observe the religion I was raised in, I love the symbolism of rebirth and resurrection. Every year, I eagerly await the spring as flowers bloom and it gets just a little warmer. And since this is the last year of my 40s, I will live every day in the moment.

Unicorns and Rabbits

I did a thing last week. I got my second tattoo. I planned this one specifically to celebrate my birthday this year. It’s a pre-milestone year. I only got my first tattoo last summer, which I had planned for about ten years; I just had to work up the courage to do it.

My first one is a Unicorn based on the Unicorn Tapestries. I have always loved unicorns, and this particular panel – the Unicorn in a small fenced pen chained to a pomegranate tree – is my favorite art piece. It has meaning on multiple levels for me. In part, it references my favorite book and movie of all time, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.

I waited so long because I wanted to be sure that whatever I put on my body meant a lot to me. And it wasn’t long after the first one that the new ideas kept coming.

This new tattoo is based on the book Watership Down, which, like The Last Unicorn, profoundly affected me when I was young and read several times. I have a type when it comes to literature—animals experiencing existential dread.

I have one to four more tattoos planned, too. Once you start, it’s hard to stop.

What I realized was that tattoos were a lot like ideas for writing. It can be hard to start, but the creative floodgates open once you do, and the thoughts are released. To have tattoos, you have to be brave.

To be a writer, you have to be fearless.

It can be scary, but then you realize it doesn’t hurt so bad, and when it’s done, you have something beautiful.

Adventure and Travel

This time of year isn’t just my birthday but also Matt’s. His is just 4 days after mine, so we celebrate this season like Christmas. So many things are happening this week and next, but I’ll get into some of that later.

More importantly, since it is Matt’s milestone 50th birthday, we are doing it up big this year. He picked a trip to Spain to celebrate his birthday. We are so excited. We will be gone for 10 days in the middle of April and can’t wait.

That does mean I have to organize my work between now and then and try to get everything done for all of April before we leave, which is fine. That’s what I love about working for myself and partnering with Teona. We manage our schedules and trust ourselves to do our work effectively and efficiently.

Traveling is one of our greatest joys, and it’s all part of our adventurous lifestyle. When Matt and I were doing a lot of speaking at Tiny House events, we’d get a lot of questions about building a tiny home and why we do things like that. I said it was just one more adventure in a life of crazy adventures, so it didn’t surprise anyone. And I am grateful that we can do these things.

Joyful Celebrations

I mentioned that this week and next are full of joyful celebrations, and I am excited about that. Because our birthdays fall around Easter and the Equinox, we often incorporate spring traditions into our celebrations. This year, we’re excited about several things.

The day before my birthday, we’ll see a local artist perform at The Guitar Bar. Then, on my birthday, we will see a local Drag show. I love Drag, and I am so excited about it. The next day, we’re having friends over to dye easter eggs because why the heck not? And Sunday is, of course, Easter itself. While we don’t observe it in any religious sense, we have created other traditions. I will make Pastitsio, a favorite Greek dish from Matt’s family’s cookbook.

Of course, with Matt’s birthday the following Tuesday, we aren’t stopping with Easter. We have reservations at a local restaurant for dinner. After the celebrations, we will be fat and happy, and then we still have to go to Spain, where we’ll eat and drink our way around Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid.

Goals for This Year

Since my birthday is in the spring, I often use this time to refresh my goals for the year. While the rest of the world makes New Year’s Resolutions, I meditate on ideas that percolate until my birthday and dig in. It’s perfect as the winter is ending and spring is springing. So, what are my goals for this year?

• Grow dpeg Marketing with Teona to bring at least two more website clients.
• Increase my brand marketing and position myself well as a freelance writer.
• Revise my novel.
• Walk more.

I already have a headstart on some of these. With the help of Teona, I’ve created my brand-new website, and I am thrilled with it. That goes hand in hand with my branding. My best friend and I began submitting fiction to each other once a month, which is a great way to have accountability. I do have work on the next chapter, though. I bought a treadmill last year that I barely used, but I am happy to report that I have started doing that three times a week, which is a lot more than I was walking before. When the weather warms up, I plan on walking outside more, too.

Happy birthday to me, and cheers for another year.

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