34

my friend made me the most amazing cake!

I turned 34 on the 15th. Around my birthday I always like to reflect back on what the past year has brought me and what I want from the year ahead. This was the first year in several consecutive years that didn’t have a sentinel event that defined the year. I didn’t get married, change careers, or have a baby. Instead, it has been a year of figuring out who I am after the dust from all of those major events has settled. Although 34 feels a little scary to me because it means I am officially in my mid-thirties, I’m also okay with it because I feel like in the past year all the pieces have come together and I am just where I should be in my life. It's not at all where I would have predicted I'd be 10 years ago, but it feels so right.

Motherhood- This wasn’t literally the year I became a Mom, but I do feel like it is the year that being a Mom became part of my identity. When I turned 33, Cooper wasn’t even 5 months old. I was still very much in survival mode. A year later, I’ve found my groove and we’ve settled in (as much as you can settle with a constantly changing toddler). Instead of just surviving, I’m trying to parent with intention. I have more confidence in my decisions as a parent. I’m enjoying my child and watching him grow,

Work- Right now I’m working as a nurse 2-3 days a week, teaching a bootcamp class, teaching an aerial yoga class, and I hope do more short term consulting projects like the one I just finished. I kind of fell into this multiple jobs scenario as different opportunities presented themselves, but this seems to be the balance I’ve always looked for in my work life. I enjoy each type of work I do, but I am not feeling stressed and consumed by life like I did when I was working one fulltime job.

Running/Fitness- In some ways I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve been in in years. I just set a PR in the half marathon! I’m pretty happy with all the muscles I see in the mirror! But I can also feel that maybe I’ve crested the mountain and I’m heading down the other side. I’m noticing that I have more aches and pains, that I don’t recover as quickly as I used to. I’m trying to be really good about mixing up my workouts, including lots of strength work, and including time for recovery (foam rolling, yoga, etc) every day.

It's taken 34 years, but I am learning to relax and roll with life instead of trying to control every little thing. It's made life infinitely easier and happier, so in that vein I'm not setting any specific goals for the year ahead. I just want to see what else the universe has for me.