12/23/2025
I was looking through old photos for my son’s birthday…man…what a trip. Naturally, I came to pass by “old me” and felt a lot of tenderness. I could feel how different I relate to these versions of me now. There was no urge to critique, analyze, fix or erase…just a quiet honoring.
The “then” photos you see are the me that didn’t know how much her body was carrying beneath the surface. I can see now how much strength and endurance those versions of me had carrying all “that”. All that emotional pain, anxiety, chronic inflammation, and autoimmune diagnoses / flare ups (symptoms requesting care).
So this isn’t a “before and after.” It’s a thank you. Although so hard, the outpour lead me to healing (and I wouldn’t have it another way).
I turned 37 today and in the reflective days leading into Christmas, I notice that this birthday doesn’t feel quite the same as usual. It feels like a pause. A settling. A moment to take not of what has been held, learned, and integrated.
So, thank you to the version of me who survived, who kept going, and who did the best she could with the tools she had at the time. And thank you to the version of me now who feels settled, aligned and more at home in herself.
This birthday doesn’t feel like becoming someone new. It feels like coming home…a remembering. 👧🏻🥹 iykyk
I also feel deep gratitude for this community. I don’t take for granted that I get to walk beside you in your healing. Being invited into people’s lives and stories is a privilege I feel deeply at this time of year when everything naturally invites us to slow down and remember what truly matters.
Sending love, gentleness, and deep gratitude as I step into another year of life and as we move into Christmas/2026 together. ♥️
Cheers to the gentle reminder that healing doesn’t erase who you were. It integrates her. 🥂