For the past few years, every August I’ve posted a thought, a photo, or something each day just to see what the heck I’m really up to.
This year feels different.
This year has a deeper meaning.
This girl is going deep—working hard to heal, be present, and become my authentic self.
Life isn’t always rainbows and butterflies, am I right? But when we slide into the sweet and sassy 60s, there’s a certain freedom that comes with realizing we’ve already survived so much. At some point, you recognize there isn’t much left that can take you down for the count.
I’m able to appreciate life a little more, laugh at myself a little easier, and be a whole lot more fearless.
I spent so many years simply surviving that it’s taken me a long time to appreciate where I’ve been and pause long enough to see where I am now.
Truth be told, worrying sure didn’t get me here.
I think it was pure stubbornness.
These days, it’s the smallest—and sometimes silliest—things that make my heart bubble over with joy.
If you know anything about my husband, Michael, you know this man loves to shop. I think he’s just a little obsessed with Facebook Marketplace, and honestly…I’m not mad about it because he’s really good at it.
Today he texted me to ask if I wanted a personal sauna for my birthday.
If you know me at all, you also know I’m constantly purging—trying to release the excess so only the juicy stuff remains.
I texted back, “I’d rather have purged cabinets and closets. “Thank you for thinking of me, sweetheart…but less really is more.
It’s what I ask for every birthday, every Christmas, every gift-giving occasion. I know it probably makes him crazy, but I’m learning to express what I really want instead of what I think I’m supposed to want.
Tonight, my stepson Jesse made a home-cooked meal to celebrate me and it touched my heart in such a big way.
I won’t go into all the details, but let’s just say there was a lot of smoke in the house. Somehow, Jesse and his wife, Amanda, turned that smoky kitchen into one of those memories that will make me smile for years to come.
It reminded me that the moments we’ll remember most are rarely the perfect ones.
They’re the real ones.
Life doesn’t always have to be complicated.
Joy doesn’t have to come wrapped in a big moment.
Sometimes it’s found in a text message, a smoky kitchen, a heartfelt meal, a good laugh, or simply being loved enough that someone thinks of you.
It doesn’t have to be hard.
Sometimes life can be beautifully simple…if we just open ourselves up to receive it.