Creative living journal #31
I'm 40, I'm 40, yeah yeah yeah!
Monday
It’s my birthday.
I am 40.
I’ve spent the day so far with a candle burning, sitting in my living room, colouring, watching news, YouTube (home reno vids, Tiny Homes, interiors), drinking so many cups of tea, Banh mi and Pepsi Max for lunch, responding and catching up on messages, creating art.
Tuesday
Sent this out today:
I don’t know if it’s the cold weather or mid-year motivation slowdown or turning 40 or a huge start to the year catching up with me or something else entirely but I’ve been retreating.
Retreating from social media big time, retreating from messages, retreating from emails, retreating from anything on top of my usual day to day life at home. I’m just getting through the essential appointments, exercise, children’s activities and whatnot.
It’s not just rest that I need but slowness. My husband would argue that I’m always operating at a slow speed 🤣, which is kind of true, but the slowness feels like something I need to lean into more than ever. I think my body and mind are preparing for the next wave, so I’m going with it as best I can.
Second-last CBCA Shadow Judging group session – worked on Creative Responses with the students and will do the actual voting next week!
Wednesday
Washing …
Windy, cold day …
Setting up projects in Notion – I’ve been meaning to do this for a while but also don’t want to get too caught up in having to track and organise everything ‘perfectly’ and strictly, however, I do need a better way to track my projects and where they’re at that’s better than my current list of every single little thing in one big note on my phone 🫢
Wrap up
Ended the week at The Sydney Opera House to see a performance titled Music on Tubowgule that was a birthday gift from my husband. It was so incredibly special for so many reasons – it was a performance featuring three amazing First Nations composers and performers, it was actually the very first performance I’ve seen at the Opera House despite the fact that I’ve written a book titled Tubowgule: A Sydney Opera House History all about the site the Opera House was built on, and it was the first date night my husband and I have had in what feels like a long while.
Before the show, we had dinner at the restaurant Midden, which was delicious and highly recommended!
I have so much more circling through my mind about the importance of the show and all the many emotions the night evoked, but I’m feeling too many things of late, so instead of pouring my heart out on the page I’ll have to leave you with some pictures from the night.
Your turn
How’s YOUR week been?
Share your thoughts, join our weekly creative chat via the link below, click on that heart or leave me an emoji if a well-thought-out comment feels like too much right now <3
Also, I’m on the lookout for more participants in the How to live a creative life interview series. Check out this month’s interview with Cassy Polimeni (link below) and reach out if you’d like more info about how you can be a part of the series.
I acknowledge the Darkinjung people as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I am writing from today. I walk, talk, write, and create with respect on this land, and I acknowledge the enduring connection the Darkinjung people have with this Country; I thank them for their care of this Country, and I pay respects to the Elders past and present, and extend that respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here reading or listening.
You're 40! You're 40! So funny when the kids sang that to you at the pub.
Happy Birthday! ❤️And what a lovely birthday treat you had there. Welcome to THE decade.