Turning 41; life as a 40-year-old

Aug 12, 2024| yearly, review

2024-08-10-03 Life as a 40-year-old #annual #review

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Cargo bike: I love the way the Load 75 makes it easy to go to playdates and on family adventures. A+ rides in it for quick trips or when she's tired of pedaling. I can tow her bike with the Bakkie bag. Glad to bike more.

Since playdates are now 15 minutes away instead of 60, it's much easier to bring hot chocolate or popsicles to share. I used to bring store-bought popsicles, but now that the fruits are in, we've been making our own. (We've even gone fruit-picking!)
Crafts: I sewed a lot this year, from outdoor projects with Sunbrella fabric (covers for the awning, pizza oven, and grill) to handsewn drawstring bags and zippered pouches. I crocheted a few gifts, too.
Code: I automated more of EmacsConf and made a presentation about it–my first in years. In consulting, I wrote some code to support events, and I've even been able to write tests.
Curiosity: I've been slowly learning more about myself and us. I still worry, I still feel unsure, but this feels like a possible path.
Looking ahead: In some ways, it feels like we're taking two steps forward, one step back. Some things that were hard are now easier: cooking, sewing, reading together… Some things that were easy are now harder: playing with friends… I think we might be getting better at figuring out what works for us, though, so that's good. Looking forward to more experiments!
Topics: declarative language, co-regulation, nonviolent communication, competent/intuitive eating; testing and automation; Minecraft scripting; biking and exercise; working with what we've got

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40 by month

Aug 2023: ramp, etc.; swimming; pizza party; quilt, ukulele bag, grill cover; harvest
Sept: pizza parties; grade 2; consulting events
Oct: EmacsConf presentation prep; automation; tried cargo bikes; Mathalon medals; synchronous exemption
Nov: cargo bike!; skating
Dec: EmacsConf; one cat died; skating
Jan 2024: Tried livestreaming; lots of tweaks; Minecraft with cousins; consulting event
Feb: P52; Star Wars party; skating; other cat died; COVID booster
March: skirt, cloak, dress; rock-climbing; crepes; A+'s anxiety; maple syrup festival
April: first 3x3 comp; drawstring backpack, rose, journal cover, machine cover, 5-stone, basket; more decluttering
May: A+'s surgery; PS3 controllers & PC, PS Vita; cat carrier pad, skirt, poop emoji, vest pockets
June: strawberry picking; crochet gifts, swim skirt, flowers; big kid bed; homemade popsicles; garden
July: pouches; Pixel 8; swimming; blueberry & raspberry picking; bitter melon
Overall: cargo bike, crafts, automation, figuring things out
Next year: exploring more of our interests

Last year, I hoped to spend a lot of time playing outside with A+. Investing in a cargo bike has definitely helped with that, as we can more easily go on family bike adventures or head off to playdates. I've been learning more about playing inside with her as well, exploring Minecraft and figuring out how to work with the Minecraft Bedrock scripting API. This year A+ got into Star Wars and Harry Potter, so there's been lots and lots of reading, conversations, LEGO, Minecraft worlds, and pretend. I enjoy spending time with her. I think we're slowly starting to figure each other out.

We simplified the garden this year, and I feel like we've been able to water it more consistently. The bitter melon plants have been very productive, and the cherry tomatoes have been more than enough for our regular consumption.

If next year is much like this year (plus, of course, the things we'll experiment with and learn along the way), I think that'll be all right.

Blog posts

63 posts aside from Emacs News.

Sketches

59 sketches this year, down from 93 sketches the year before. I haven't made as much time to think through things.

Time

Category	% 39 years	% 40 years	Diff %	h/wk	Diff h/wk
Business	1.8	3.4	1.6	5.7	2.7
Sleep	33.4	34.2	0.9	57.7	1.5
A-	39.6	40.0	0.5	67.5	0.8
Unpaid work	4.0	4.0	-0.1	6.7	-0.1
Personal	10.1	9.3	-0.8	15.7	-1.4
Discretionary	11.2	9.1	-2.1	15.3	-3.6

Even though I put a fair bit of work into documenting and automating more of EmacsConf (I put together a presentation this year, yay), I actually ended up spending a little less time on Emacs (-1.5 h/wk, averaging 5.3 h/wk) and other personal coding projects (-0.9h/wk, averaging 0.6 h/wk). That was probably because the previous year involved building a lot of infrastructure so that we could run multiple tracks, and this year was just about making it smoother so that we could run it with minimal prep. Things paying off!

I shifted much of that time to consulting (+ 2.8h/wk, averaging 5.6 h/wk), which let me help with some of my clients' time-sensitive project ideas. It's nice being able to take the time to write tests for my prototypes, which makes it easier to use little snippets of time without worrying too much about breaking things.

I think I'll be spending more time with A+ instead of less. I'll keep my expectations for focused time low so that I can enjoy this time with her. This is the time to do it!

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