Today I turn 40.
Today I turn 40 and life is good.
Today I turn 40 and I am holding a baby in my arms and I am dancing in the kitchen and I feel as though I am 22 and just starting out in the world.
Today I turn 40 and I look back on the mistakes I’ve made and realize how much I learned from them. I mourn for the roads I did not travel, yet I rejoice where the roads I did take have led.
Today I turn 40 and I find myself surrounded by good people. Friends I have known since childhood, whom I love as my sisters; friends I have made along the way who take me for who and what I am and like me anyway; family who is near and willing to help anytime for any reason; a husband I have known since I was 16, loved since I was 22, and is truly my best friend; and children who make my heart ache because I am so in love with them.
Today I turn 40 and I like me. I am comfortable with who I am and no longer feel the need to fit anyone else’s mold. What you see is what you get, and I think what you are getting is pretty damn good.
Today I turn 40 and I want to share with you something that I found online a few weeks ago. It’s not my autobiography, but it certainly could be. And as I turn 40, I’m excited to walk down this other street and see what adventures lay ahead.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS
by Portia Nelson
I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.
II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place
but, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
V
I walk down another street.
