Things that quietly made 42 better than 32

Six quiet shifts that snuck up on me

I turn 43 on Saturday. And over the last few days, I’ve caught myself thinking: I actually really like it here. Which is wild, because I spent most of my thirties white-knuckling my way through life, convinced that if I could just get a little further ahead, a little more organized, a little more together, everything would finally click. (Dear reader, nothing has clicked... but it still feels pretty good here.)

Actually, wait. It did click. Just not the way I expected. And honestly, not because of anything that happened all at once. It was the slow, quiet things. The almost imperceptible shifts that sneak up on you until one day you look around and realize you’ve become someone you actually like spending time with. Here are six of them, in no specific order.