Today began my 47th trip around the sun.
Solar laps a friend called 'em.
Lotta laps. Lotta lessons. Lotta days.
About 16,790. And I make peace with each one.
I make peace with the men I loved, but didn't marry.
I make peace with the children I sometimes imagined, but didn't have.
I make peace with the careers I did well in, but didn't stick with.
I make peace with the house I adored, but didn't return to.
I make peace with the life I walked away from, but do miss.
I start this lap, making peace.
I am married to a mission, which is to promote
freedom from FAST: Fear, Authority, Shame, and Taboo.
My heart is built to care for more than a household.
My babies are the words that I nurture, before sharing with you.
My career has been rewilded, as has the rest of me.
My ideas of 'home' -- addresses, state lines, national borders --
they dissolved into the soft structures they really are.
My life opens and reaches for warm, golden light.
My strength. My sight.