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I think Ageing is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person that you always should have been.

-David Bowie

Twenty years ago today, on my 25th birthday, I woke up in a lousy apartment in the city and when I turned on the bathroom light I was greeted by a sink full of roaches. Happy Birthday Joanie.

Today, I turned 45.

And I woke up to one grumpy dog and one VERY excited puppy.

I had to get two groggy girls off to two different school in two different directions at the same time. I did a load of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, took one VERY excited puppy for a walk and then went to work.

I loved this morning! So much better than being 25, right?

Another thing that's better than being 25, being old enough to use the phrase "I'm too old for this s@*% and own it.

So, with that in mind, here is a brief list of s@*% I'm too old for:

• Sleeping on anything that is not a bed
• Cheap makeup
• Going out if I don't want to 
• Bad food
• Roaches (see above)
• Borrowing money
• Bad "friends"
• Fast fashion
• Being pregnant
• Cheap wine
• Staying up later than I want to

So, birthdays, I guess they are supposed to get harder as we get older, but I've always loved a challenge and the biggest one of all is to embrace the years as they add up.

As we round the corner to New Year's resolutions, I'm going to challenge myself to be thankful every day just to be alive and healthy and remember to welcome each birthday as a gift.

Here are some great books to help you (and I) remember that it's not what's over, it's what's next. 

The Vactioners

by Emma Straub

Celebrating their thirty-fifth anniversary and their daughter's high-school graduation during a two-week vacation in Mallorca, Franny and Jim Post confront old secrets, hurts, and rivalries that reveal sides of themselves they try to conceal.

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World

by The Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Two leading spiritual masters share their wisdom about living with joy even in the face of adversity, sharing personal stories and teachings about the science of profound happiness and the daily practices that anchor their emotional and spiritual lives.

Perfectly Imperfect: The Art and Soul of Yoga Practice

by Baron Baptiste

Readers will learn how to move through their lives with grace and flow, begin again when a situation becomes difficult, "be a yes" for their innermost desires, give up what they must, follow their intuition, and find their true north. 

Read Between the Lines

by Johanna Knowles

 Over the course of a single day, these voices and others speak loud and clear about the complex dance that is life in a small town. They resonate in a gritty and unflinching portrayal of a day like any other, with ordinary traumas, heartbreak, and revenge. But on any given day, the line where presentation and perception meet is a tenuous one, so hard to discern. Unless, of course, one looks a little closer--and reads between the lines.

Year of Yes

by Shonda Rhimes

In Year of Yes, Shonda Rhimes chronicles the powerful impact saying yes had on every aspect of her life-- and how we can all change our lives with one little word: Yes.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

by Jonas Jonasson

Confined to a nursing home and about to turn 100, Allan Karlsson, who has a larger-than-life back story as an explosives expert, climbs out of the window in his slippers and embarks on an unforgettable adventure involving thugs, a murderous elephant and a very friendly hot dog stand operator.

The Little Paris Bookshop

by Nina George

Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal through literature is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened. After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. Joined by a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu travels along the country's rivers, dispensing his wisdom and his books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself

Eleanor and Park 

by Rainbow Rowell

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.