40th birthday post

so I walked past the Story Bridge and there was the ipod and The Pixies and I picked the kind of grass with the grey pink tufts that I love so much and there was the Story Bridge that I thought perhaps I might jump off but I knew that perhaps I wouldn't because there was that book to write and someone I trusted to proof it when it was finished and I listened to The Pixies and I thought, 15 songs, fifteen of my favourite songs and I thought I might listen to The Pixies again tomorrow on my 40th birthday and I thought, 15 songs and 15 reasons to keep chipping away at it and I thought:

Anthony Mullins, my love, and my father, and my grandmother, and my mother, and Christopher and James, don't forget James and the wonderful package deal of his family that I adore, and Bec and Katherine and Mr Somerville, who is new but pretty central at the moment, and Fiona and the beautiful Michael Wright and Kris Olssen and Nike Bourke and Beth and Elissa and how can you cut it back to 15 songs, but 15 songs is all you really need to keep chipping away at it day by day.

And I looked back at the story bridge and it was so pretty with the lights on it and everything and I thought about the book and the next book that has already started to burn a hole in me and the previous book that I care about and that would be orphaned and maybe a book after that and I just kept walking. Just kept turning the ipod up. Just kept listening to the pixies and tapping the rail of the riverwalk with those feathery grass seeds that I have always loved the best and I thought thanks, to the rest of you, but particularly to the 15 of you who I love the best.

And I thought just get the words written. Just keep getting the words written, and keep writing and re-writing the song list that may never be complete