I can't drive 45

* * * * 

Although my birthday was back in August, it’s taken me until now to find the proper headspace and circumstances to get these thoughts down, which I think is a hell of a message of what it is like to be 45. So, in case you need the math, that’s 68 days since my birthday, or a hair over two months. 

In that time, a couple of things have happened, which is why I took much longer to get to this post. There’s no doubt that 2025 has been a mad little year for everyone with a pulse. In that time, I moved back to Puerto Rico, have set up our apartment, had a shift in career direction, had one book event, and will have another by the end of this week. I’ve also surfed some of the best waves in years, had my first root canal, met up with a lot of friends, set up my Substack page, with weekly posts, and much more goodness for people who sign up for free with extra goodies for anyone who signs up for the paid version, including video readings, tips on video, first looks into future releases, and more slices of life…which brings us back to this blog.

You may be thinking I would be closing down this blog, though you’d be wrong. The only reason that would happen is if data scrubbing got so out of control that I would consider it a much better option to close shop. My Substack responds to certain interests and things I want to write. This blog responds to others. My upcoming releases respond to others. And LinkedIn shall respond to other things as well. 

Why the fragmentation? Well, because each audience is ideal for something different. My Substack is titled Organic Creativity and I go into my process in regard to most things, while also inviting readers to try different things to reconnect with their creativity and to do so directly. In these AI obsessed times, I see how some people lose touch with that spark that makes them enjoy what they do. Sure, they may be “more productive” but what does that even mean? That Substack continuously talks about the human experience and the importance of it, especially during these times. 

For LinkedIn, I will be posting several things focused mainly on my advertising career. I’ve been wanting to write about those experiences for years and to share whatever little nuggets I think could benefit other people, even if the focus of so many is to use AI for most things. I will write about synergy, about the power of conversation, about things to do during film shoots and VO recordings, and how little touches can help you get a better product and also nurture relationships with producers, talent, and clients. 

So, what the hell will this blog be about? About anything and everything. Don’t expect a tone shift though expect things to be as personal as usual, talking about things that are important to me and I think would benefit us to discuss. In the end, every writing endeavor is self serving and serves me for a reason or three. What I do in this blog would not be a good fit for the other places. Might I eventually adapt what I write into another collection from the blog? That’s very possible, but only time will tell.

As a writer, the act of writing brings me joy, satisfaction, and balance. With it, I decipher the madness we live as a collective and the one within. Quite often, I write and I feel a weight lifted and I’ll continue being thankful for it. 

And when it comes to birthdays and important dates, it helps me capture the moment I’m living. And right now, it took me over two months to wrap my head around everything that’s happened the last ten months. That’s also something I can say about being smack in the middle of my 40s. I internalize and take my time to understand things better than I used to. Beyond maturity, it’s a need to understand rather than shoot from the hip. I take more precautions, prepare plans A-J at the very least, have dispensed with pessimism for the most part, and am selectively optimistic, though more often open to whatever life brings. More than any of that, I’m thankful. Thankful for health for me and my family. Thankful for opportunities given. Thankful for experiences had. Thankful for readers who read me here, on Substack, on my books, or who interact with my posts on social media. Thankful for fellow writers who offer kind and genuine support. Thankful for challenging moment and challenging people, because I learn from those exchanges. About life and myself. About what I’m willing to take, what I will call out, and what steps I will take to protect what is important to me. 

I think more than wise, I feel more conscious about many things. About the importance of the things that matter. About how I experience, react to, and take things on board. About how being close to family matters much more than other things and how opportunities have a way of popping up in different ways and different places, and you have to allow yourself the freedom to give it a go. 

I also better recognize the things that keep me happy and young in mind and body. A good surf, consistently stretching, eating as well as I can, properly hydrating, still enjoying random treats, playing video games, listening to good music, having long conversations with friends, keeping in touch with the people that are important to me, and plenty of other things. So let’s say that to me, 45 is a time to be mindful, present, and aware, or at least, that’s where I’m at and where I want to be. 

What will the coming weeks, months, and yes, years, bring? Who knows? All I know is that right here and right now, I’m happy and thankful, and that’s not a bad place to be. 

Thanks for reading and til next we connect in words…

Peace, love, and maki rolls. 

BONUS BIRTHDAY SKYTHOUGHT

 

 

 

 

Plus, a birthday #Skythought , because why not?

As I look at the book of my life
I see many pages behind me. 
Stories of every hue
Moments of bliss
All the genres mixed’
In a way that only makes sense in hindsight.

Part of me wants to sneak a peek
But the pages are blank…
Powerfully unwritten. 
 
I have committed verses to memory
And memories to stories.
I’ve danced with dreams and nightmares
I’ve sung dirges and hymns.
I have written much
In life and in books
But I can’t help but start today
With a devilish smile
Knowing the plot twists I foresee
And those that’ll just happen
One page
One word
And one breath at a time. 
©JD Estrada 2025

#SKyThoughts #poem #poetry #birthday 

4ll 4bo4rd for 44

Time is a curious thing. Sometimes it crawls. Other times it goes at light speed and without realizing it, a couple of weeks (or months) seem to go by in a blur. This last year has had a lot of those stop-and-go moments where you think you have an idea of how things will flow and life says, “Oh! You had plans? That’s cute.”

 

That said, looking back on year 43, even with challenges, I got a lot done and also enjoyed a lot of things. A lot happens in a year and we sometimes don’t realize how much we get done because we’re onto the next thing. By the way, it’s not like I’m going to suddenly change and be all feng shui, namaste, and chill. I’m a curious cat and have always been a bit bananas, so I fully expect some shenanigans to come my way and to produce my own set of shenanigans. I may have no idea what the future holds, but what I do know is that every day I choose to begin and end the day by giving thanks.

 

Thanks for the good.

Thanks for the not so good.

Thanks for the amazing.

Thanks for the random (and BOY do I encounter a lot of random and LOVE it).

Thanks for the quirky.

Thanks for the silly.

Thanks for the inspirational.

Thanks for the confusing.

Thanks for the challenges and the solutions I’m able to land on.

Thanks for the solutions that come from others and the maturity to welcome them.

Thanks for health.

Thanks for the fun.

Thanks for the thoughtful.

Thanks for the sweet.

Thanks for the patience.

Thanks for the opportunities to work on my patience.

Thanks for the gray hairs (long may they remain and they can stay if they help keep the rest in check and in place).

Thanks for the details.

Thanks for the human moments.

Thanks for the recommendations.

Thanks for the messages.

Thanks for the super tasty adventures.

Thanks for the laughs when something I try is terrible.

Thanks for the hugs.

Thanks for the jokes.

Thanks for the tears.

Thanks for the laughs.

Thanks for the insights.

Thanks for the support.

And thanks for love from so many places, time zones, and countries.

 

Of course, there are days when the daisies don’t smell as vibrant and the sun feels a bit dim. But on other days, daffodils dance, the sun tag teams with the moon to both show off, the food tastes better, the air smells beautifully, and life flows. Life offers you both, so recognize both and if you can’t enjoy it, try to learn from it…or use it as a plot point for a story or inspiration for a song or a poem.

 

It’s been a year of many achievements, from winning my first ad award and other work opportunities (more on this later), to giving writing courses to students in Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania, and a writing course to people in several time zones, to finishing the Human Cycle, to getting back to sending Estrada Crates, to personal adventures, like having my first trip with my oldest brother to see Peter Gabriel in Chicago, to going to Puerto Rico with the Captain to be with family, and countless other things.

 

365+ days give us the opportunity to do a LOT of things and experience a spectrum of emotions. Here’s to embracing all of it.

 

44 feels like a great number and it seems to encompass abundance in many ways. I have several firsts I’ll be pursuing so let’s see how that goes, and if you can spare a sec to wish me luck, it’s always welcome. Regardless, thank you for joining me for this or any read. For being in touch. For connecting. For accepting my expression of humanity and for sharing yours. There are plans ahead and I hope you’ll join me for them. But for now, I’ll focus on giving thanks.

 

It was a great year.

 

Here’s to making this new one even better.

 

Peace, love, and maki rolls.

 

 

4ll 4bo4rd for 44

 

Time is a curious thing. Sometimes it crawls. Other times it goes at lightspeed and without realizing it, a couple of weeks (or months) seem to go by in a blur. This last year has had a lot of those stop-and-go moments where you think you have an idea of how things will flow and life says, “Oh! You had plans? That’s cute.”

 

That said, looking back on year 43, even with challenges, I got a lot done and also enjoyed a lot of things. A lot happens in a year and we sometimes don’t realize how much we get done because we’re onto the next thing. By the way, it’s not like I’m going to suddenly change and be all feng shui, namaste, and chill. I’m a curious cat and have always been a bit bananas, so I fully expect some shenanigans to come my way and to produce my own set of shenanigans. I may have no idea what the future holds, but what I do know is that every day I choose to begin and end the day by giving thanks.

 

Thanks for the good.

Thanks for the not so good.

Thanks for the amazing.

Thanks for the random (and BOY do I encounter a lot of random and LOVE it).

Thanks for the quirky.

Thanks for the silly.

Thanks for the inspirational.

Thanks for the confusing.

Thanks for the challenges and the solutions I’m able to land on.

Thanks for the solutions that come from others and the maturity to welcome them.

Thanks for health.

Thanks for the fun.

Thanks for the thoughtful.

Thanks for the sweet.

Thanks for the patience.

Thanks for the opportunities to work on my patience.

Thanks for the gray hairs (long may they remain and they can stay if they help keep the rest in check and in place).

Thanks for the details.

Thanks for the human moments.

Thanks for the recommendations.

Thanks for the messages.

Thanks for the super tasty adventures.

Thanks for the laughs when something I try is terrible.

Thanks for the hugs.

Thanks for the jokes.

Thanks for the tears.

Thanks for the laughs.

Thanks for the insights.

Thanks for the support.

And thanks for love from so many places, time zones, and countries.

 

Of course, there are days when the daisies don’t smell as vibrant and the sun feels a bit dim. But on other days, daffodils dance, the sun tag teams with the moon to both show off, the food tastes better, the air smells beautifully, and life flows. Life offers you both, so recognize both and if you can’t enjoy it, try to learn from it…or use it as a plot point for a story or inspiration for a song or a poem.

 

It’s been a year of many achievements, from winning my first ad award and other work opportunities (more on this later), to giving writing courses to students in Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania, and a writing course to people in several time zones, to finishing the Human Cycle, to getting back to sending Estrada Crates, to personal adventures, like having my first trip with my oldest brother to see Peter Gabriel in Chicago, to going to Puerto Rico with the Captain to be with family, and countless other things.

 

365+ days give us the opportunity to do a LOT of things and experience a spectrum of emotions. Here’s to embracing all of it.

 

44 feels like a great number and it seems to encompass abundance in many ways. I have several firsts I’ll be pursuing so let’s see how that goes, and if you can spare a sec to wish me luck, it’s always welcome. Regardless, thank you for joining me for this or any read. For being in touch. For connecting. For accepting my expression of humanity and for sharing yours. There are plans ahead and I hope you’ll join me for them. But for now, I’ll focus on giving thanks.

 

It was a great year.

 

Here’s to making this new one even better.

 

Peace, love, and maki rolls.

 

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The Tale of 42

Beyond 365 days (occasionally 366), what’s in a year? There are ups, downs, segues, side roads, detours, dead ends, adjustments, long hauls, short bursts, bright moments, dark times, and everything in between. We so often try to capture what happened in that year, yet the reality is that for however good our memory is, even with a journal, we’ll miss things or misremember things.

Year 42 was actually a very good year. It had some very important and necessary life and career changes, it had two new books and progress in others, it had good food, great company, and me finding my ground again, after a shaky ride in my 41st year. Yet somehow, last year I forgot to write a birthday post...and I just fully realized this by checking my backlog on the blog.

It’s curious because for me, posts like this are important and it’s also curious because I do tend to overthink and overstress when I miss something for whatever reason. And I didn't even remember. In the last year, I’ve made several events and I’ve had to cancel a few. I’ve pivoted, I’ve improvised, I’ve said “screw it, I’m doing this because I want to,” and I’ve also said, “screw it, I don’t want to do this because I don’t want to.” I've also said no, because I couldn't, and that's OK too.

Thinking about last year, I think it makes sense that I didn’t write about it because I was still in the middle of a journey of sorts. Of relearning, of unlearning, of forgiving, of speaking kindly to myself, of challenging false narratives, and highlighting truths that we tend to overlook because negative events and things tend to weigh a bit more and actually bring us down.

If it sounds like it’s been a bit intense, well it’s because it has been. There’s been a lot of lessons yet also a lot of enjoying and plenty of smile. I’m still in the process of clearing up a few things in my path, though I have a better idea of things I want to do, things I don’t care for, and things I will continue to work on, because life is a continuous stream.

It doesn’t matter if we confuse the year of something funny or memorable that happened. It’s important to remember the event and how it made us feel. That’s because memory is the one type of story-telling we all share. Yes, even those who say they aren’t creative and can’t write a story. We can talk about how false that is later, but yes, even you tell stories through memories. 

And that’s more important than you can even begin to imagine.

Because it means you’re in control of your story. 

I’m not saying to fabricate things, even though we all have those friends with tall tales that are as plausible as pigs suddenly learning how to fly. I’m saying that life happens and it’s always up to us the light we use to remember things by. 

For years, I’ve focused on trying to use every experience as either inspiration or a learning experience and in the last year and a half, that has included reframing some pretty intense times I’ll write about later. Yet I was able to. I was able to mine silver linings where you would only think to find a septic tank. I’ve been able to learn new things in my 40s that I’m sure will be with me until the day that I die and it was a kind reminder that there’s so much to live, learn, enjoy, share and be thankful for.

So here’s to finding any and all means to always be able to quote Monty Python and sing, Always look on the bright side of life.

Thanks for joining me for a new year and here's to all the stories and lessons ahead. Bring on 43.

Peace, love, and birthday cake

Friday the 13th Birthday Special

I’ve always found it curious to have a birthday shared with Alfred Hitchcock and Fidel Castro and for it to be a 13^th. For this year, it lands on a Friday so it’s even cheekier. 

So yeah, I’ll be 41…that’s kinda crazy though not as crazy as the last year we've all experienced. Still, a lot of good things have happened as I progress in my 40’s and for this post, I’m actually listening to the song #41 by Dave Matthews Band, because why not?

 

Also, why celebrate alone when you can have friends join in. If you’d like to help me celebrate, then there’s a couple of ways I can think of so let’s do the top 10 ways to help me celebrate.

 

1. Pre-order my 18^th release, Rhymes from the Wicked Nursery. I’ll be writing more about this new release, but I’ll be brief: Nursery rhymes are creepy…they can be fun creepy…I wrote 80. 

 

2. Buy my physical books from Tazas y Portadas. Most copies of my books are signed and each has a unique dedication. 

 

3. Review ANY of my books. I’ve got a lot of books and a gift that is ALWAYS in season is a review. Good or bad, doesn’t matter. Just keep it honest.

 

4. Say cheers with socks, snacks, tea, bananas, or my books. Also, make sure to tag me @JDEstradaWriter in your preferred social media platform. Also, what can I say? I LOVE my books, but they always look better with company. 

 

5. Have a podcast, blog, BookTube or AuthorTube channel? Then have me over for tea and shenanigans.

 

6. Speaking about shenanigans, feel free to give me a follow on all my socials. Every bit helps and if you can tell a friend or two, I have zero complaints about that.

 

7. Know someone who works at a bookstore or library that could help me get books there, pretty please with sugar on top, hook an indie author up. If they have a different type of store that would be open to having my books, why not?

 

8. Have students that would like a chat from an indie author? Drop me a message and let's make it happen.

 

9. Want to make a donation to a charity in solidarity? I support EB Awareness, the American Cancer Society, and Waves 4 Water. If you do support any of these causes, it’d mean the world if you could include a #CheersMamaEstrada to show that her love continues to help others.

 

10. Check your contact list, pick four people and drop a line or give them a call and say you love them, just because. We need more love these days. 

So as a reminder, below will be my top 10 and if you think of other ways to help me celebrate, go for it! Til then...

Peace, love, and maki rolls