Birthday Thoughts

 

{me and some friends on my 25th birthday.}

This is my last day of being 25. 

And while I always look forward to my next age with excited expectation, this year feels a little different.
When I'm 26, I'm no longer in my early 20s. I'll have passed the middle-point of the 20s and I'll be on my way to the {gasp} late 20s. One step closer to the age that always sounded so old to me ... thirty. But for now, I am happy to still be in my 20s — the party decade. And really, who's to say every age can't be a "party" age?

My entire 25th year was dedicated to growing a baby in my belly.

{I got pregnant on my birthday, so in a way, I like to think Ellie and I share a birthday.}  

It was such a joyful year of anticipation and new meaning. In my 25th year, my life was irrevocably changed. I became a mom. And now I'll have that title forever. 

In my 26th year, I hope to leave behind a lot of fears and doubts and be more bold and daring. To have more confidence in myself. As a wife, mother, writer, actor and exerciser ... and anything else I want to be-er. To try new things without worrying what people will think. I hope to read a lot and learn a lot. To become unshakable and unashamed of my testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  And most of all,  to stop wasting time being so concerned about my own little world and start doing things for others. To foster real, meaningful, deep relationships with family and friends and to reach out to people who need uplifting. 

I'd like to think of tomorrow as the first day of the rest of my life — my new and improved life. So, happy birthday to me! Here I come, 26. Do your worst. I'll do my best.