37.

"What they dont tell you about birthdays is that when you turn a year older you're also all the years that came before that year. I just turned 37 but I'm also still 36, 35, 26 and 19 and 11 and 7 and 1. When you wake up on your birthday, you expect to feel your new age but you don't. You open your eyes and everything is just like yesterday..only its today, and you don't feel your new age at all. I still feel like I'm 27.. and I am, under the years that makes me 37. See, one day I might say somthing stupid and thats the part of me thats still 19. Or maybe somedays I don't trust myself and thats the part of me thats 23 and for no reason at all I need to cry like a little baby and thats the part of me thats 1. Because the way we grow older is kinda like an onion, each year inside the next one, and our birthdays are just a celebration of all the years that came before and a welcoming of the next."

This birthday rolled in harder than usual but that quote has stuck with me though the weeks leading up to it. Harder days will pass and age really is just a number. 37 doesn't scare me. I welcome it because each new year is a beautiful, gentle reminder that I am still here. What a beautiful slice of reality that is.

I was showered with the most beauitful heart felt notes and recorded videos from the kids. Carter definietly gets my card humor and I am so grateful for this hilarious card that he made for me!

Brian and the kids got me my 2023 blog book. I long for these books each year. I swear I carried it around for 30 minutes just fliiping though it with every chance I got. I love the sweet reminders of noticing beauty in every day life.

So, heres to 37. Another year of adventures and love and hardships that make us a little stronger. Take a deep breath, you got this.