09/15/2025
Well… yesterday I turned 43. That’s 15,706 days old.
And wow — this week was an emotional one. Honestly, I’m not sure where I thought I’d be, but never ever did I think I’d be where I am now. I could never have imagined having the family I have now. Or the husband that honestly will do anything for me and probably deserves sainthood if we’re being honest.
I didn’t come from much, and I sure didn’t have any help along the way, so sometimes it just stops me in my tracks how far I’ve come.
But, no one prepares you to look in the mirror one day and realize how different you look. The wrinkles, the eye bags… all the things we pick apart. I sat there looking for a minute, but then I noticed the scar above my right eye.
I got that scar when I was 7 or 8 at my Papa’s house in SC visiting with my dad. They are both gone now, and seeing that scar brought back a flood of memories.
I remembered the long road trips, singing in the car. The airport sprints, always running late. The chocolate milk, oh my god my Papa's chocolate milk 😋 The time just spent just being with my dad. Losing him is still fresh, and some days I smile, some days I cry. But today, I felt both.
And it hit me — we spend so much time trying to look younger, get fillers, hide the imperfections. But maybe those lines, scars, and “flaws” are really just the receipts for the life we’ve lived. Proof of the memories.
So here’s my resolution for 43: be intentional! Spend my time with the people I love most! Take the trips! Make the memories! Roll the windows down and sing at the top of my lungs! And love my people so hard it hurts!
This last week was full of that kind of love — concerts, watching my kids play, lunch with my friends, and long nights on the back porch just talking with my husband. And for the first time in my life, I can say, I feel completely comfortable in my own skin. My messy, stretchmark, wrinkled, emotional, cellulite, heardheaded, skin. I am learning to be ok with just being authentically me! That's a pretty good gift if you ask me!
Thank you all for the birthday wishes 🧡 They meant so much. This one hit different.