07/31/2026
This is 39 🥹
I got to wake up this morning another year older, hearing the pitter-patter of little feet on our bedroom floor, feeling the warmth of three tiny bodies crawling on top of me in their cozy jammies, whispering “Happy birthday, Mommy” as they snuggle into my neck (and fight over “the good spot”) all before I’d even opened my eyes. I almost wish I could’ve stayed right there all day.
I used to think growing older was something we were supposed to dread. But now I think it’s actually the best gift we get.
My thirties have been the most transformative years of my life. The decade I got my favorite title: Mom. Every year has grown me in more ways than I could’ve imagined, and just when I think each stage can’t get any better, it does.
Older, wiser mothers I know well (and even sweet strangers in the grocery store) have lovingly reminded me this season with little kids goes impossibly fast. So I’m trying to memorize it. Our almost-four-year-old declaring that I’m “The Birthday Mommy” and our eight-year-old ordering me “don’t come out yet!” The giggles behind the door as party hats go on, the same well-loved, wrinkled, plastic confetti tablecloth they dug up from the basement getting spread across the kitchen table, Jordan cueing up the same Stevie Wonder song that’s been our go-to birthday anthem since before the kids were born. Their handmade “all by myself” gifts, wrapped in crinkled paper and just a little too much scotch tape.
How rich am I that I get handed a tiny box full of someone’s most-cherished treasures? Seashells. Stickers. A rainbow drawing… and a homemade card that *almost* spelled “birthday” right (who really needs that “i” anyway?)
It’s been the sweetest summer with them, fuller than any before it, more memories than I know what to do with, and so much I still want to share here.
But tonight, I just feel so thankful to be a year older, for another year with my four favorite humans, our community… for you.
If you’re reading this, whether you found us three days ago or you’ve been here since before these tiny humans even existed, thank you for being here. It means more than you know 🫶🏻