So… another year has gone by and it’s about to be my birthday again. This year was HARD.
I spent most of it sick or exhausted. There were moments of anxiety and sadness. There were big changes- friends moving away and getting married and getting pregnant and saying goodbyes and of course our own additional family member entering the scene. This past year was anything but routine. It was a year filled with learning to accept help and admit my shortcomings. There were bumps in the road and missed opportunities It was a year filled with sacrificing… but with payoffs for many of those sacrifices.

Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now…

It was also a year filled with big joy. Community. Friendship. Babies. And on a more specific note- It STILL seems surreal that I got to see Lin Manuel Miranda and the original cast of Hamilton. There were story times with my son and cuddles with my daughter and date nights with my husband. There was discovering new ways to think about things and approach the day to day.
So I embrace my birthday and the blessing of getting a year older with defiant hope and continued gratitude. With plans of treating myself well after a physically grueling and devastating past year. With dreams of more irreplaceable family memories. With goals of living a little more like a saint and a poet. With SO much LOVE.

Let’s do this.