Older Wiser Stronger | Happy Birthday To Me

I interrupt these Traveling Photographer Mini Session blog posts to bring you this important information. It’s my birthday again!

Happy Birthday To Me

I’m 37 today! I LOVE birthdays. Did you know that about me? I celebrate birthday month, birthday week, birthday weekend. It’s a thing. And I love cake. I hope someone makes me a cake today. My favorite is vanilla with almond icing. LOVE me some almond icing. Or I crave Whole Foods Raspberry dark chocolate cake too! mmmm. I think I might stop writing this and go buy myself one right now…

Did you see my birthday post last year?

Birthdays Hope Life and Love

I had more energy last year. lol.

I am NOT doing a big post about myself again. But I do have some really fun shots of myself in Chicago and Illinois from my mini shoots. I took my niece with me on all my shoots as a trade for her senior sessions. We did three shoots! So I had her get a couple of me since I rarely have any of myself. So I simply set up the camera, decided all my lighting and posing and made a go of it! I’m so glad I did because these turned out so awesome! I’m in love with them. I’m sure you will see them weaved into my social media for the next year or more!

Older Wiser Stronger | Happy Birthday To Me

I’m thinking about getting older and honestly… it doesn’t really feel much different. I still wonder sometimes if I’m really old enough to be an adult and a mother. lol. Maybe I’ll always feel like a kid in some ways. I guess my body feels older but stronger than it’s ever been. I’m not as flexible or full of energy though. I can still climb a tree (Yes I tried) but not nearly as well. I did start working out this last year in earnest (hence the stronger me!) because I want to stay strong and healthy as I get closer to middle age so I think that has really helped.

What I love most about getting older is that I seem to be getting wiser!

I honestly like myself so much more than when I was 27. And especially since I was a completely lost 17-year-old. WOW. I am older and wiser, I am stronger. IN more ways than just the physical. I have to be to own a business and keep it growing, to not give up and preserve even when things get hard. I have to be stronger to be a better mother every year. I am also always challenging myself and trying to grow.

In order to stay mentally stronger and constantly growing wiser, I have a few goals this year I would like to share.

This coming year I want to:

Grow even more patient and engaged with my family.
Be a wife that listens then speaks. Or maybe just listens. I really want to learn to be a good listener.
learn to be slow to anger and quick to love. I think I’m good at this half the time, I’m going to tackle the other half.
Strengthen and engage with my faith, in a different way than before. I want to water it better, give it better soil, and let it blossom. I have to let go of some of the romanticising of how it was when I first became a Christian and let it be something new. Because it is something new. It’s so very different than the faith I was raised with, It’s that and much more. It’s my own.

There is more I want, but like any good task tackler, I know that starting small creates a better environment for success! Wish me luck and encourage me this year!

That’s it friends! I have fully celebrated 37. lol.