This feels a little different..
It was my birthday weekend!!! 🥳
And for the first time since having kids, I let people in on my birthday.
Usually, it’s a quiet affair of intentional nothingness.
🍿 Back in 2019, I asked to be left alone in our three-bedroom apartment with unlimited food delivery and endless Netflix, while my husband and kid went to my mil’s. ← like a solo staycation, but on budget
🥩 Last year, it was a solo Pilates class and a quiet Wagyu dinner with Adam.
Same vibe. Slightly upgraded.
But this year, something shifted.
I was inspired by my friend Milena. She’s one of those people who always celebrates her birthday. One time, I brought our kids to her gathering, and they were stunned – an adult’s birthday where kids were invited? Unheard of.
Usually, it’s the other way around.
It reminded me how easy it is to abandon the kid in us for the sake of “adulting.”
>>> To trade play for productivity.
>>> Whimsy for work.
>>> Magic for metrics.
And yet – That playful spark? It’s the very thing that makes your soul business un-boring.
So this year, I told Adam, why not. Let people in. And to make it extra fun, I let Adam handle it.
In true Bella-on-birthday fashion, I kicked off the day with two solid naps on the couch. Later, I watched The Corpse Bride with the boys. Then the guests arrived.
Milena showed up with her crew. Our effortlessly cool cousin Rina came too. We told stories, ate pizza, and sipped canned mushroom soup from a giant bowl (a birthday gift from Milena, obviously..) while the kids built a cushion fort out in the yard.
Simple. Sacred. Exactly enough.
It was the loveliest birthday. One that opened something in me.
Let People In
aka Resource I’m Loving This Week: The Lazy Genius Way book by Kendra Adachi
Let People In is one of the Lazy Genius principles by Kendra Adachi. If you’re new to her, her book above is a good start. It saved me during the chaos of the 2020 lockdown – postpartum with two small kids, minimal childcare support, a husband-and-wife business starting an event business that had to pivot online overnight.. You get the idea.
The idea is simple:
In hard times, even though it feels easier to shut people out (some of us are internal processors – me! 👋), sometimes the more supportive thing is to let people in.
And you’d be surprised by what it brings.
I know I was – for my own little birthday chill this year.
And then here we are, Reader.
Later that night as I sat with the experience, I thought of you.
How small and intimate this list is.
~210 people.
~60% open rate.
That’s 126 real souls. Breathing, brilliant humans.
No freebie brought you here.
You came with your full self – witnessing my journey in this strange, awkward digital space, while I quietly hold space for yours.
Imagine if all 126 of us were in the same room. Pizza. Campbell mushroom soup. Ice cream cake. How wildly wonderful that would be.
Thank you, Reader.
Thank you for letting me in.
For being here.
For making this connection feel less like marketing.. And more like meaning.
With love,
– Bella
PS. No pitch for a gathering or retreat (although that would be lovely). Just presence. I’m grateful for you, Reader. Deeply.
