This Is 46: A Little More Life in My Life

Birdwatching has made its way onto my list of hobbies. That was a surprise. At 46, I expected to be thinking about the family business, financial security, and where my husband and I might venture off to next. The name of the bird that just landed in the garden? That’s new.

The funny thing is, the birds were there before. I’m the one who started paying attention. Now one lands and I find myself putting down whatever I’m doing for a better look. Sometimes I’d like it to stay a little longer. Sometimes I realize I’m the one who can stay.

The birds were always there. So were the stories. Birthdays have a way of making me notice both, and this year I kept thinking about my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and the legacy they created.

The Seeds Planted Before Us

Growing up in Aruba, people dropped by on birthdays. You pulled up a chair, stayed a while. Somewhere in conversation, you might hear a story or two you’d never heard about someone you’d known your whole life. You had to be there long enough for the story to come around.

As I get older, I find myself wanting to hear those stories differently. How did they begin? What did they risk? Did they have any idea how much their decisions would shape the people coming after them?

My grandmother Maggy started Maggy’s, Aruba’s first beauty emporium. Growing up, I knew it as my grandmother’s business. Now that I run a family business, I think about the woman who had to open the door that first morning. What did she see that made her think Aruba was ready for this? When did she feel secure enough to enjoy what she built? I wish I could pull up a chair and ask her. I’d ask my great-grandfather the same questions. He started Brenchi’s, Aruba’s first hardware store.

My father, brothers, and cousins are all entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship runs through our family, and now I’m up.

The Businesswoman I’m Becoming

For years, I wanted a title that reflected my work. Then I opened my own business and chose my own title. Now I’m deciding what that business will become. Being capable can get you to a yes before you’ve asked whether you want the work. At 46, I’m asking sooner.

Through HAMAK Hospitality Solutions, our family is building financial security and opportunity for our children. I also want to create projects whose impact reaches beyond my lifetime. Here in the Hudson Valley, that means helping communities understand the power of tourism. In Aruba, it means getting more local businesses known to our guests. Connecting the two places we call home feels like work that can outlast me.

A Little More Life

Thinking about what my family built makes me wonder how much they allowed themselves to enjoy along the way. It’s a question I’m asking myself, too. There will always be another project, another responsibility, another reason to put the trip off.

For a long time, I treated enjoyment like the reward at the end. Finish the project, get through the busy season, then breathe. But the finish line kept moving.

At 46, I want to feel more of the life we’re working so hard to create. Travel with my husband. Enjoy who our children are becoming. Have time to follow a curiosity simply because it makes me happy.

And I want to spend more time in our garden. It’s where the birds keep showing up, and where I’m slowly learning their names.

I don’t think the answer is doing less. It’s noticing more. A slower cup of coffee before the inbox opens. Dinner where nobody reaches for a phone. An afternoon in the garden with nowhere else to be.

That’s what Make Happiness the Strategy means to me in this moment. I want the seeds we’re planting, in the garden and in the business, to give the next generation more choices. I also want our children to remember us enjoying ours.

The birds were there all along. I’m glad I’m finally paying attention, and I have a feeling they aren’t the only thing that has been waiting for me to notice.

What is already making you happy that you just haven’t slowed down long enough to notice?

About the Author

Ayerim Maduro is an award-winning destination marketer, speaker, and founder of HAMAK Hospitality Solutions.  A proud wife and mom of two young adults, Ayerim shares on her blog, Ayri Vibes, blending personal storytelling with professional expertise. She writes about life, purpose, travel, hospitality, entrepreneurship, and what it means to design a life you truly love. Her work weaves together her 25+ years in tourism, digital marketing, and community. What it means to build authentically, making an impact from the heart.

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Any views or opinions expressed in this blog are solely Ayerim’s own and do not represent the views or opinions of those people, institutions, or organizations that she may or may not be associated with in a professional or personal capacity unless explicitly stated.