This Is My Life: 🥳

Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, I knew every word of most Billy Joel songs. I I loved his music AND lyrics. They moved me then, but, now, on the cusp of 50, as I listen to these songs, I relive the heartbreaks, the professional dramas, the reinventions, the letting go, the kids growing up, the soul searching, the ups and the downs. My Life! And I bet yours, too.

Last week on a road trip, we listened to a live Billy Joel concert in NYC. Beginning to end. I hadn’t heard these songs in a very long time. In revisiting them this week I realized the Piano Man himself has had it all figured out and packaged up, for the longest time.

So in honor of my 50 years on planet 🌏 , here are 50 lessons I’ve learned - in the words of none other than Billy Joel.

I made a mix tape on Spotify 👇 Press play, then start reading…

I am starting off with the song that made him famous. Overplayed? 100% but it is good because it is the perfect descriptor of the human condition. Dreams unrealized, quiet desperation, needing a change, lonely for connection, and what they all have in common is…Music - the pianoman - ties it together. We are never alone. And anytime we think we are, just hit play on Piano Man.

Every stage: childhood, with friends, grandparents, my kids, my parents, my siblings, my extended family. Every season of love. If you didn’t learn to be present before. Remember to be present NOW.

I was in such a rush to “arrive” I almost missed the point. Wait for the right thing to come along, don’t rush into the first opportunity.

You never arrive. Hold on to the fire and use it to fuel your passion, but understand that you never really “get there.”

Some dreams are stepping stones, not destinations.

Time isn’t the enemy.

True in marriage. True in divorce. True in life.

We want honesty, but often can’t handle the whole truth—especially about ourselves. At the same time, honesty IS so hard to give. Right?

Pretty much the whole song still stirs me. It's the unhealed inner teen anthem of all who gave their heart too easily. Especially the line: some people live with the fear of a touch and the anger of having been a fool. Damn! I never wanted to be someone who stayed resentful.

School prepares you for corporate ladders, college degrees, and compliance; not for being human.

Boundaries. Glorious, hard-earned boundaries. And, I don’t want you to tell me it’s time to go home. I think we could all do with a bit of live and let live.

And now I live in Florida, like he said. It hits different at this age.

We all deal with pressure one way or another. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Just do the work.

Sometimes thrice. From mistakes at work, as a parent, as an “ex-wife” as a co-parent. As a stepmom.

I believe the best of us is trying to interrupt the patterns that got us here. It’s what gives me hope. It’s what drives me to do this work. The future is in the hands of this generation and it is our responsibility to hand over the reins to well-equipped, capable, independent, kind, and generous thinkers and doers.

I’ve said both, in love and in grief, more times than I ever imagined. Yet every goodbye is a step into a new hello.

The first Billy Joel song I ever learned on piano—and the truest words about heartbreak and healing. My silence is self best defense. Especially in our relationships with our own demons and when we break our own heart.

I have been judged for this. After discovering the Gene Keys and human design I realized this is literally how I’m made. Gate 15 is the gate of extremes which is partnered with the gate of rhythms - turns out this is my communication style and how I’m here to communicate.

“And if I stand or I fall

It's all or nothing at all”.

Patience was never my strong suit.
They don’t call it divine timing for nothing.
Nothing that is meant for you, that you’re searching for, will ever pass you by.

Whatever you are - the best and the worst. You are who you are. No apologies.

Not someone for them. For you. The real you.
Before the masks, the roles, the conditioning.
The one who dreamed and danced without shaming or explaining.

What if your soul has always believed in you?
Through every pivot, heartbreak, and reinvention.
What if it’s you who’s been waiting to catch up, to trust your worth, your voice, your vision?

There is a sense of uncertainty in midlife. Because you don’t know what’s next. You wonder if the best is behind you, or yet to come. There is a sense of uncertainty when the world seems like it’s careening to self destruction. But these are the only times I’ve ever known. So I’m going to do what I can to thrive in spite of and because of it.

Speaks for itself.

Full stop.

Like the Peter Principle. There sometimes comes a job, or a life situation, where you hit your level of incompetence. That’s not a time to walk away, it’s a time to double down, to work harder - if it is something worthwhile.
It’s a bit ironic in relation to the Movin’ Out theme. But hey both fit.

I was born with my foot in my mouth.
It’s gotten better but I occasionally slip. See: Big Shot.

But hopefully not.

Still true. Don’t read the news ever again, until you have learned to discern what’s real and what’s narrative.

The feelings aren’t wrong. There is only a right and a wrong time to share.

Sometimes you’re the background music to other people’s drama. But your melody matters.

Same. Give me the real, messy people every time.

Type A personalities do not and cannot understand this song until they have lived long enough in the grind, and experience the broken back that only allows you to polish the fenders of your proverbial Cadillac (that you cannot physically drive). Get out of the rat race before it’s too late.

You don’t have to let life pass you by. Take control and live on your own terms.

Falling down is part of getting free. No judgment whatsoever. It is literally part of the story. Stop shaming.

A beautiful contrarian view of nostalgia. All those old commercials that were insensitive, racist, we have made progress. The good old days weren’t that great if you really think about it. Not that you can get it back, anyway. Focus on the road ahead.

We carry the past with us. Our stories never leave us.

Learning the difference between projection and introjection took is taking a long time. But sometimes a fantasy is all you need.

Especially while going through perimenopause! But since Billy wrote this, it’s obvi not just a female problem.

Not just with our partner or significant other.
With every person you care about.

The longer you wear the mask, the more of a stranger you become to yourself. It’s exhausting. And liberation can be brutal if you let things get too far.

This song came out the summer I graduated high school. I thought it greatly described what I thought was that door that was opening to the rest of my life. Also, I sleepwalked well into my twenties.

A lesser known song, but easily one of his best.
I mean THIS LINE! Yet here I am; writing; putting myself out there.
Hoping to be of service, despite the very real chance of rejection.

No longer who I used to be, but not quite what I’m becoming.

Don’t forget your second wind
Wait in your corner until that breeze blows in. 50, here we go.

This song marked the end of Billy’s recording career. And like all true endings, it carried both closure and beginning. Bittersweet doesn’t mean broken. So look back. Take in all you’ve built, all you’ve survived. Celebrate the good. Honor the journey. Then, onto the next chapter.