Out Like a Lion

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I’ve been in something of a funk this past month. Whoever said that April is the cruelest month, never lived through February in New England. It’s been bitterly cold for weeks, culminating in a storm that left two-inch-thick sheets of grungy ice covering all the sidewalks.

I never really felt like a recovered from last semester. Ten days between terms was just not enough time. And, of course, I had my typical overly ambitious list of things I wanted to do during my all-too-brief break. I only managed to do three of the things on that list — I’ll leave you to guess which three. Hint: cleaning my room was not one of them.

I’ve not been sleeping nearly enough, which is making me grumpy and forgetful and probably led to the loss of my wallet a few weeks ago. You’d think after growing up with two parents who were crazy from chronic sleep deprivation that I’d know that my genes and lack of sleep don’t mix, but somehow, I have to keep relearning this lesson.

On top of that, one of my best friends turned forty, which reminded me that I’m about to turn forty-one and am still nowhere near figuring out what I’m doing with my life. I think I’ve been having this same mini-crisis for the past fifteen years or so during the month before my birthday. And somehow, it always seems to catch me off guard.

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Instead of letting my pre-birthday malaise carry on for another 28 days, I thought I’d try something new this year. My whole virtual Advent Calendar thing was so successful in December, that I thought I’d count down to the end of my fortieth year with a blog post a day. There’s nothing like a bunch of shiny new blog entries to make you feel like you’ve accomplished something. And, I think that’s just what I need right now.

March may be coming in like a lamb — the ice is finally melting, and I wore my medium-weight winter coat today instead of my heavy-duty Swedish parka — but I’m planning on my fortieth year going out like a lion.