Tuesday, December 18, 2007

 

Turning of a decade

Feeling sanguine about turning forty this week. I've loved my thirties - I'm looking back on what I've accomplished and it's a lot - married my sweetheart, opened a bookshop, bought a house, wrote a few books, read more than a few books, worked eagerly at painting and other artistic pursuits, maintained a spiritual practice, been blessed with my family and friendships, kept the bookshop open, relaxed into my real life. Which is pretty damn fine, no two ways about it. The hard stuff - the difficult things - I find I can examine them and let them fall away. While the good things linger. Funny, if you expect the best, if you expect joy, that's what comes to you.

Good day thus far - the last day I'll be a thirtysomething. Before opening the shop this morning I went out and got a haircut and picked up a few last Christmas gifts for my family. I looked around at all that tempting stuff in the stores and thought Eh and came back to my own little place. First thing, sold two Wendell Berry books, an Edward Gorey, and a little cookbook about chicken soup. What more do you need, really.

Comments:
Congrats and Happy Birthday Sarah! It's a good time to count your milestones.
 
Sarah,

I'll add my birthday good wishes and an early Merry Christmas as well.

Dan
 
Thanks, guys - I love this time of year. Good for taking stock (literally and spiritually). And for shoveling snow...
 
Happy birthday, Sarah, from another December baby! I actually managed to get within twenty minutes of Christmas Eve, but was born on the 23rd. It is always an interesting birthday month.
 
Happy Birthday, Sarah!
 
Happy Birthday from me too and I have to ask...what sort of books did you write and do you sell copies in your shop?
 
Anon, Vicky, Lesley, and mongi - many thanks for the good wishes, my forties are about the same so far, but I'm feeling even more hopeful than usual... Lesley, I've written books but not published them, sadly - something high on my list of goals for the coming years. A book about being a bookseller (complete), a book about visiting great used bookshops from the perspective of a reader and a dealer (imcomplete), a few poetry books (ongoing), a memoir about painting and art retreats (incomplete), a children's book about a particular painter I love (complete). I keep journals, too. And this blog. "Always scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh, Mr Gibbon?"
 
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