I am turning 41 on Sunday.

I have been documenting my birthday milestones online since I turned 21 in 2006. (Let me save you a blog search.) Shortly before I turned 30, I shared a blog post called “20 lessons.” I haven’t looked back on it in a decade but I pulled it up before starting this newsletter. It’s linked here if you’d like to read (the links no longer work because I had to transfer my blog platform; but I think you can get the gist).

I still relate to a lot of what I wrote! Those were mostly lessons that stuck around. I still drink my coffee black. I still am obsessed with the library. I still drink both white and red wine, but much less now than I did in my twenties. I haven’t ran much more than a half mile in 10 years but I do still agree that moving makes me feel better. We have adjusted our pizza dough recipe, but I still believe learning how to use a sewing machine was life-changing.

When I wrote that post, I was just about to get pregnant with my second kiddo. I was just about ready to launch my planner business, Get To Work Book. Those two events would define my 30s. I spent the decade raising my little kids and running my small business. When I look back in 50 years, I will remember my thirties fondly as a very busy and very productive ten years.

I learned a lot in my 4th decade, and while I don’t have a list of 30 things, I do want to dive deeper on a few of my favorite (and hopefully long-lasting) lessons.