Today is my actual birthday, and I am officially 41 years old!

My 40th year of life did not look the way I thought it would. When I was 39, I did all this preparing because I wanted my 40th year to be exactly what I imagined. But it didn’t quite work out that way. So many things happened that were completely outside of my control.

There were some great times, some incredible highs, and definitely some lows. I learned a lot of lessons. I dug deeper into my writing bag and honestly feel like I unlocked a new creative plane. I had some amazing opportunities at work. I finished the draft of my book.

And through all of it, I can confidently say that I am better than I was last year—even though sometimes it feels like I had to go through the fire to get here.

My word for 2026 was connection, and I’ve watched that word show up in so many different ways. But surprisingly, one of the biggest has been my connection with myself.

I’ve learned to feel my feelings instead of immediately trying to make them go away. I’ve worked on not being so hard on myself. I’ve started asking what’s underneath what I’m feeling and allowing myself to go beneath the surface.

Maybe 40 wasn’t the year everything came together the way I planned.

Maybe it was the year I came together.

As I step into 41, I’m praying that I can tie up some loose ends and go into 2027 with a clean slate and a head start. There are still a few months left in this year, and I believe a lot can happen in that time.

As always, I am grateful. Grateful for my husband, my children, my friends and family, my job, the opportunities I’ve been given, the lessons I’ve learned, and simply for life.

Here’s to 41. ❤️