Hi there, sweet friends. Today is my birthday. I love my birthday, always have. I love celebration, I love taking the day off to do exactly what I want to do, I love a birthday treat, I love receiving cards and gifts and having care and connection beamed my way from friends near and far, I love aging. Recently a dear friend and I were talking about aging and we agreed that aging is “softening to magic” and I can’t think of a more apt description. Birthdays feel magical to me; like a gentle liminal space between years past and years to come. Like a marker of time that is at once arbitrary and infused with weight and importance. Like an opportunity to soften to the world’s magic. 

Today I’m leaning on elders and ancestors like Joy Harjo and Mary Oliver. Joy Harjo who says,

Softening to magic, for me, is partly heeding these many reminders from Harjo (which I discussed at length last week) - remembering all of the beings who are alive poems (magic!), remembering that I am not just part of this universe, but I am this universe (a wow), remembering that I am all people (connected and carried), remembering sundown and the giving away to night (gift, gift, gift). Twilight has become one of my favorite times of day. Another gentle liminal space that I’m leaning into. Another chance to dance with light and darkness; another chance to know the moon.

I’m also communing with Mary Oliver who tells us,

Some days feel like an absolute trudge. And others, when I can soften to magic, I’m reminded that the world is wondrous and people can be miraculously kind. I sometimes even feel like I have wings and Halleluiah for that, indeed. Some wondrous moments from my world recently (also known as the sky being alive, alive, alive):

And some miraculous kindnesses: 

• A few newish friends responding to previous issues of this newsletter with sweet words, encouragement, and love

• My mom watching our kiddos late into the evening so that we could watch Come See Me in the Good Light with some dear pals

• My supervisor giving me today off work to celebrate my birthday

• My partner leaning in and loving me wholly 

• One of my kiddos bounding into bed most mornings and saying “Momo, I love you!”

• A friend not shying away from difficult conversations about how we show up for one another when showing up is hard

• One of my kiddos making a cozy pillow corner on the couch for me when my back was hurting

• A friend sharing first drafts of their poems with me

For my birthday, I’d love for you to consider a donation to a cause that you care about! Maybe you already make a recurring donation - would love to hear about it! - or maybe you’ve been meaning to support an organization and haven’t quite had the nudge to get around to it - now is your moment! I know that giving is so intensely personal and also that not everyone has the capacity to give financially, so feel no pressure from me on this one! If you ARE looking for a place to share resources, one organization that is always on my mind this time of year (with our twins’ birthday three days ago) is the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. This org is a network of Black women-led and Black-led, birth and reproductive justice organizations and multi-disciplinary professionals, working across the full-spectrum of maternal and reproductive health and they are doing incredible work in the Black maternal health movement. 

Please also send me a wondrous moment or miraculous kindness you’ve experienced recently - it would make my day to hear about it. “Remember the dance language is, that life is.” Keep dancing with language and life. I’m so glad you’re here.