April? Not so cruel after all

Big highlights and a little break ✨

We did it, folks. We made it to the end of 40 Lessons — and the end of my 30s. My birthday was on Sunday, and it was truly wonderful. As you’ll read below, the weekend turned out to be a surprise amalgamation of many of the lessons I wrote about! It was simple, sweet, and made me feel like I was exactly where I wanted to be. That’s a pretty wonderful feeling at any time — doubly so on your birthday.

I’m giving myself a belated birthday gift and taking two weeks off from the newsletter. I’ll be back on May 20 with a mini essay and a reader survey, then return to my regular Tuesday cadence. (A routine I’m happy to continue, I’m thrilled to report! I worried I might feel burnt out after 40 Lessons; if anything, it’s renewed my love for this newsletter and deepened my gratitude for the magnificent MSDB community.)

Before I take a short break, today’s post is a parting gift to paid subscribers: a selection of glimmers from April — a month that started off rocky, but took a slow, steady, glorious turn.

T.S. Eliot famously declared, “April is the cruelest month.” And while a slew of unexpected expenses on April 1 left me feeling panicked, and there were many moments in the past few weeks when I found it hard to stay calm and centered after reading the news, I think I’ll reserve that dubious honor for another month. (February, perhaps?) Here are the small moments that made my April anything but cruel.