On embracing a half-century
An invitation to my asynchronous and virtual celebration
Like many of you, I find myself cringing at the daily news. I am sorting out my thoughts and responses for this time in history, finding a path through despair and into an avenue of agency and hope. But we must not let this madness consume all of our energy! Despite all of the horrors all around, I am quite determined not to let anyone steal the joy of my very special upcoming birthday. That’s what this post is about.
I am turning 50 years old in a few weeks — February 21, to be precise. It’s quite a milestone, one that I’m viewing with much rejoicing! To celebrate my birthday, I am embarking on a project of collecting delights. Inspired by Ross Gay and Gretchen Rubin and the movie Amélie and the color pink and the number 50, I plan to publish a series of posts over the next few weeks, briefly highlighting things that I find delightful and ending up, on February 21, with a list of 50 delights.
Would you like to join me in my celebration? If so, here’s how to do it! Send your delight — thoughts or images or a song or something silly or whatever comes to mind. You can send one or you can send several. To participate, you can:
Email your delight to me! Just write, “Here is something that delights me!” OR
Reply to this email with your delight OR
Leave me a comment on my Substack newsletter OR
Text me on my phone. Or send me a letter by post! (email me if you need my info) OR
Post it or comment on Facebook or Instagram, if you’d prefer. (And tag me!)
My rules are simple: 1) each item brings a frisson of joy, 2) each item is just a little thing — this is not the time to write “Jesus” or “my family” as the delight, and 3) these will be in no particular order — whatever comes to mind in the moment!
Think of this as an act of resistance, leaning into the beautiful parts of our world even while the atrocities continue. Let’s nourish our souls with good things that can make us strong and wild and powerful in this moment.
Allow me to get the party started with three delights.
Three Delights: February 2, 2025
From the platform at the Adams & Wabash L station, back in August 2024.
A day at the Art Institute of Chicago. Over the past several years, I have been cultivating a habit of visiting the Art Institute for a kind of retreat day. It can be tricky to clear my schedule for this kind of outing, but it’s very worthwhile. I see it as an opportunity to let my mind wander, soak my senses in beauty, experience the world, and get some perspective. In fact, I’m at the Art Institute right now and I draft this post. I spent a couple hours in the Project a Black Planet exhibit which I highly recommend! The perfect way to kick off Black History Month. (Stop by to see it before the exhibit leaves on March 30.) And since we’re on the topic of the Art Institute, let me tell you about one of my favorite pieces…
Miss Expanding Universe by Isamu Noguchi. Here she is:
This sculpture is one that I’ve been returning to over and over for the past few years. She feels representative of my aspirations for this journey into parenting baby grown-ups — big and joyful and open. I love the way her arms stretch out wide, embodying Twyla Tharp’s recommendation to continue moving with expansive motions as we get older. She always reminds me of this scene from The Incredibles when Mrs. Incredible expands into a parachute to rescue her children. Isamu Noguchi himself describes this sculpture as “full of hope,” which is exactly how I feel whenever I look at it.
The color pink, especially in February. I know that many people dislike February — the winter drags on, etc. But I love it for its pinkness! Between Willy Wonka Day (February 1, which could be a delight all to itself), Valentine’s Day, and my birthday, I go big on pink this month. The color brings just the kind of enthusiastic energy I need, especially when combined with red. ‘Tis the season for all the pinks! I might plan to include at least one pink thing in each of these posts.
A pink moon flask (or is it red-and-white?) that caught my eye at the Art Institute.
So that’s my plan! I hope you can join me in celebrating my birthday with a series of delights. Thanks for considering it! 💕
Do you like my pink-covered notebook?
I delight when people say my youngest daughter and I look so much alike.
The Goldberg Variations by Bach - a delight of my father, passed down to me. Happy almost 50th birthday!