Tomorrow, I won’t be thirty anymore.
I’ll be thirty-one. I’ll be in my thirties. And as any impending birthday is wont to do, it has made me introspective.
I dreaded thirty as it approached, but thirty became a good year. It was thirty – it was important because it had a zero at the end, right? I think that emboldened me and gave me new perspective at the same time. With that bolstering, I managed to extricate myself from a failing relationship and grant myself the closest thing to a fresh start that I could manage. I’ve reconnected with some friends who fell by the wayside during my married years, and the quick forgiveness for my disappearance and quicker reintegration into their social sphere was frankly heartwarming. Though it may not seem it from the outside, the biggest change has been a creative one. I’ve published the first part of a serial novella this year. I’ve gained some momentum on the first comics project that I’ve been collaborating on, started scripting two others, and have managed to connect with a few artists who seem enthused about what Matt and I have been putting down on paper. There have been sketches. In my inbox.* That such a thing can happen excites the hell out of me to what I think is the perpetual amusement of the artist in question. I got involved with Alert Nerd in an official capacity, which I don’t think would have happened if I weren’t doing something that was worthwhile, friendship with Matt and Sarah and Chris aside.
I’ve felt, in the past year, like shit has been happening. That’s not something I can say about every year of the last decade. I’ve felt, in the past year, genuinely happy, which is also not something I can say about every year of the last decade.
Many of you reading are people that fall into my personal orbit, which is my overwrought Jeff way of saying that we’re friends. There have been times in the past year that I’ve leaned on you when I’ve needed it and you’ve always been there. I’m demanding in that regard, I know, which means I doubly appreciate that you do it. I’m also bad at expressing that because of my sarcastic veneer. So thank you, all of you – from the people that I’ve grown up with to the people that I only know via Twitter and, hell, even the people who find this site by searching for “Cobra Commander Weather Schemes.” Thirty’s been a good year, and it’s due to each of you.
Here’s to thirty-one.
*sadly, none of them involve space werewolves.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
This is the first post I’ve read from this blog, and it is a good one to start off with – I rather like it.
Happy Birthday!