I turned 30 last month. I intended to write a post or two reflecting on the milestone but everything I wrote sounded cheesy and done before.
The truth is, I am excited to be 30. I have no feelings of dread entering a new decade and I count the newly found wrinkles as laugh lines. đ It is truly an honor to be able to age and I’ve always kept that feeling near to my heart.
While I never wrote about it, I did spend a lot of time reflecting on my life and the freaking awesome people in it. I felt like this before I got the best gift ever from Tyler so imagine how I felt after…
Tyler asked 30 friends and family members to write me a note, letter or email for my birthday. Some were short, others were long and every single one of them meant the world. I haven’t ugly cried that hard in awhile.
I had my best friends reminisce about taking shots in college then fast forward to having babies together. My mom expressed that I was her best friend. My aunt talked about my dear grandma who passed and how proud she’d be of me. Running friends, who you get close with quickly when you’re on double digit training runs, talked about runfies and bear encounters and falling in the mountains. Best friends drew pictures of flamingoes. Heather wrote hers in Comic Sans and I wasn’t even that mad at her.
It is such a priceless gift.
“I wanted you to be able to read about the light you bring to people’s lives when you are in a dark place.” Tyler said these words to me when he gave me the letters. You all can just give him the Husband of the Year award right now.
I haven’t talked about it much aside from family and close friends but 2016 was a really hard one for me personally. I battled with anxiety and depression that left me feeling like a fraud and a crazy person in every aspect of my life. It was only through the support of Tyler and the people closest to me that I got through the worst of it.
It’s an ongoing battle but these letters are such a wonderful reminder of my worth.Â
It’s overwhelming but I am so thankful.
