A year is a measure of time between two points. The day that anniversary marks is by nature both an ending and beginning.

Birthdays have had gravity for me for many years. My own personal “new year” – I take inventory, whether I want to or not. What have I done to better myself? What have I done to better the world? What significant moments have come to pass in the sat year? What do I want more of in the year to come.

My daily to-do list for the coming year:
1. Love yourself.
2. Love your life.
3. Love your kids.
4. Love your man.
5. Meditate, pray, give it over when it’s time.
6. Stay healthy – yoga, Pilates, running, eating right, sleeping right, all that stuff!
7. Stay creative in all things.
8. Never lose your sense of purpose. Stated more positively, remember your sense of self, and your mission.
9. Be gentle when you can’t do it all.

Remember when you were 7 and a half? 9 and a quarter? I’ve turned 39. Now, I head gently into my 40th year.

Tomorrow I will be 39 plus one day. I plan on making every day between here and the day – 365 from now – that I get to crown myself with the decade marker of 40 years breathing on my own, count.