Harry Times...All Jacked Up: I am FOUR DOZEN: intentions and reflections

Saturday, May 16, 2026

I am FOUR DOZEN: intentions and reflections

What a fun birthday!!

My last dog walk as a 47-year-old

I made myself the most ridiculous Snickers cheesecake and ate it for breakfast

Sunglasses from the children (to replace one that one of them borrowed and accidentally ran over)

Ben and I had lunch together and went shopping in the cutest little town

I had a fun afternoon collecting bday freebies and discounts

And we ended the night with a toast

Yay 48! I am looking at four dozen roses as I write this and thinking about some intentions for this year. I just read Big Time, and you absolutely should, too, because it made me feel optimistic about the amount of time I have to spend and excited about all the ways I could spend it.

Some things I want to do this year:

1. Say YES more often, especially when the thing sounds a little scary. (Look for me in a crowded Chicago elevator and on a dinner cruise with a bunch of teen/tween girls next month, for example)

2. Practice radical kindness-- like as a default frame. (Spoiler: this is not my current default frame in any area). How nice would it be to take care of myself from this frame? (Like in a Foucauldian sense of rhetoric that cares for the self, not, like, a lot of bubble baths). Seriously, though. Think about running and lifting weights and eating foods to fuel your body from a place of radical kindness to yourself-- how great is that frame? And then when you apply it to interactions with others? I mean.

3. Run by 7:30 most* mornings. I feel better when I exercise at the start of the day even at the expense of resting, so I want to spend this whole year prioritizing that feeling. What is "most" though? NOT SURE. I am also really into the don't-break-the-chain mentality and am afraid that if I have a few late mornings, I will abandon the whole project. One thing I have going for me is that I HATE to be hot, so early mornings are going to be my best bet this summer, and in the fall/winter, I will basically have no choice.

4. Notice when I catch myself complaining and figure out how to make the situation better. While time is plentiful, it is also precious, and I want to spend this year developing a problem solving framework as opposed to more of an bitch-and-moan framework. I really hate our current job situation with Ben in an entirely different state most of the week. As we seek solutions, I can't just write off these years or lose them to a litany of complaints. So, I am going to notice what bothers me and fix it, in a very Rosie the Riveter, yes-I-can sort of way,.

Highlights from 47:

Discovered these most amazing eye patches that have transformed my life for the better