Friends!

Yesterday was my birthday. I welcomed 29 with happy jet lag, a ride on a Ferris wheel with Anuj, and a visit from these two:

I did not, as originally planned, publish the final post in the Saturn Returns series. The lofty goal had been to post 28 interviews before August 29th. Status: I’ve published 14 so far, have four or five more almost ready to share, and have a long list of people I still want to approach.

(I’ve also got almost 5,000 photos to edit after shooting a wedding abroad; an embarrassing number of unanswered emails in my inbox; several friends in town this week; oh, and a job search to dig into. Where should I work, Chicago?)

I’d like to take a moment to 1) thank you for reading, 2) thank everyone who has participated so far, 3) invite anyone who’d like to participate to please email or leave a comment – don’t be shy!, and 4) present a roundup of the series so far. Click on any name to read the corresponding interview.

Hannah, #1: Our biggest Saturn skeptic shares loads of smart advice.

Kara, #2: “On the eve of my 29th birthday, I was trying to wrap my head around how two lines on a little stick meant that I was now responsible for another human being.”

Saya, #3: “I no longer view my life in segments. When I was a 9 to 5′er, I had a professional life, social life, romantic life, spiritual life. Now I just have a life.”

Cathy, #4: Wherein my mom breaks the Q&A mold.

Rachel, #5: A contender for funniest post. As was Rachel’s birthday wish to me on Facebook today: “Have a wicked ball and tell Saturn not to let the door hit its rings on the way out!”

Jen, #6: “I’m 32 now, and it seems like that year belonged to someone else.”

Cathy W., #7: “If you can till that soil, take it, tolerate its edges, you’re in for a lot of growth and if you mostly resist it, you may be in for a whole lot of bumps.”

Celeste, #8: “Moving to Buenos Aires allowed me the distance that grief sometimes needs.”

Deanna, #9: “The two years after 9/11 in New York were a blur of ‘Nothing matters! We might all die tomorrow!’ and ‘Everything matters! We might die tomorrow!'”

Kyra, #10: “Slow down.”

Aditi, #11: In which I wax poetic about my former yoga instructor. I’m pretty sure the word count of my intro is higher than that of her interview.

Russ, #12: Paul Simon enters the picture.

Amy, #13: First reflection on 28 by a 29-year-old.

Ellen, #14: “Consider that change might best happen without a lot of thought.”

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Thanks again, team. I’m learning a lot. I hope it’s all right with you that I’m extending my own deadline and committed to publishing at least 14 more of these.

Please do leave a comment if you have feedback on the series – I’d love to hear what you think.

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Photo: Leah and Rachel on the NYC subway, 35mm, winter 2011.