July 26, 2026 - Things I’ve Learned at 50 Years Young… and STILL LEARNING

As I get ready to soon celebrate another birthday, I really don’t think much about the number anymore but more about the journey that got me here.

Fifty was NOT the year I imagined it would be. I had big plans. I thought it would be a year of new adventures, maybe a little more freedom, and finally feeling like I had life figured out. Instead, I learned my life had BIG PLANS FOR ME! It was definitely a year to remember…a year of healing, learning patience, accepting help, and discovering strength I didn’t know I had.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I learned some of the most important lessons of my life.

1. My body is not the enemy. With each setback in recent months, I was frustrated with what my body couldn’t do. I wanted it to hurry up and just heal. I wanted to feel better on my own timeline. I wanted to get back to the person I thought I should be. At this point, I’d like to think my body wasn’t failing me at all… but maybe fighting for me instead. Can that be a thing? My body carried me through some really hard shit. It healed. It adapted. It’s still healing… and continues to remind me that slowing down doesn’t mean giving up.

2. Accepting help is not a weakness. I have always tried to be the person who shows up. I want to be the helper… the one who takes care of things. Being the one who needed help was uncomfortable, and quite honestly… it completely pissed me off most days. But I learned something absolutely beautiful along the way… allowing people to love you when you’re struggling is also a gift. Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is let someone else carry you for a while. You really have to learn to embrace the help… and when you do, wow, it’s kind of an amazing feeling.

3. Life can change in a single moment, so don’t wait to live. I don’t care what it is… a fall, a diagnosis, a phone call, a goodbye… none of us are guaranteed that tomorrow looks like today. Take the pictures. Plan the trip. Hug your people. Eat the dessert. Tell and show your people how much you love them. The little moments are absolutely some of the biggest moments of your life.

4. My girls growing up does not mean I’m losing them at all. Some days it may feel like it, but that really couldn’t be further from the truth. Motherhood changes you through every year your children age. The days of packing lunches, bleacher butt and bedtime routines have now become daily FaceTimes and phone calls, quick and treasured visits, and watching them chase their dreams with a front row seat. It’s truly bittersweet, but I’ve learned that raising strong, independent humans is exactly what we hoped for and they are both killing it.

5. It’s okay to change who you are and maybe even reinvent yourself. At 50, I realized I don’t have to stay who I was at 30 or even 40. In fact, I wouldn’t want to go back to those early days if you paid me. I can change. I can grow. I can start something new. I can choose myself. The next chapter doesn’t have to look like the last one. And maybe that’s the best part. I’m walking into 51 with a few new scars (that have healed quite nicely I must add), more gratitude than ever and a new sense of compassion, especially for those dealing with any kind of health issues. I truly believe I have a much clearer understanding of what truly matters. I don’t have everything figured out, but the stuff that really matters to me… to my family… that’s what’s most important.

6. I don’t have to explain my choices to everyone. One of the greatest freedoms I’ve found is realizing that my life doesn’t need everyone else’s approval. The choices I make don’t have to make sense to really anyone, especially those that don’t live day to day life with me. They just need to go hand in hand with who I am, my values, and the life Louis and I are trying to build. Beyond that… what someone else thinks of me… is really NONE. OF. MY. BUSINESS. Peace is worth far more than proving a point… and I truly crave peace at this point in my life.

7. Kindness is never a waste. A kind word, a thoughtful gesture, showing up when someone needs you… it will be remembered for years to come. We may never fully know the impact we have on someone else’s life, but that doesn’t make it any less meaningful. Kindness leaves its mark long after the moment is gone and the small things can leave such a huge impact if we allow it.

8. The people who show up during your hardest seasons are YOUR PEOPLE. Life has a way of revealing who is willing to stand beside you when things aren’t easy. The people who check in, the ones who sit with you in the hard moments, the ones who don’t need you to be “better” before they love you… they love you just as you are in that exact moment. These are the kind of people you want to surround yourself with… and everyone else, well… you can tell them where to go or leave them where they are, but those are not the kind of people you need. Life is too short to keep shitty people in your life!

9. Healing is not measured just by what I can physically do. I used to think of  progress as what I could accomplish. Now I really understand that healing happens in so many ways. Sometimes healing looks like taking a step forward. Sometimes it looks like a three hour nap. Sometimes it’s a happy heart. Sometimes it looks like accepting that today is different than yesterday. Progress isn’t necessarily something we can always see and healing is right there too.

10. It’s okay to miss who you were before, while learning to love who you are now. There are times when I miss who I was years ago… when I was a young mom, maybe the days I took better care of myself, definitely the days before I fell, before life threw me a few curveballs that I didn’t come close to catching. But I’m learning that giving space to who I was doesn’t mean I can’t embrace who I am now. Both versions of me can be worthy of love!

11. A simple life can be a beautiful life. A cup of coffee in the quietest of moments, a roadtrip with your spouse… the open road and your safe space, maybe a conversation with someone you love, just simple conversation catching up. Life can be so wonderfully beautiful in the simplest of ways. The older I get, the more I realize the ordinary moments are often the ones that we look back on and smile the biggest.

12. My story doesn’t end because my plans change. Sometimes the path we imagined goes completely out the door. Sometimes we are forced to slow down, change direction, or start over. But a changed plan doesn’t mean it messes up your story. Detours have definitely become some of the most meaningful parts of my own journey.

As I look to the year ahead, I most definitely don’t have everything figured out. However, I do know… I have more gratitude. I have more compassion. I have more patience. And I have a deeper appreciation for the people I love and the moments that truly matter.

I have scars that tell stories, lessons that constantly shape me, and a heart that knows there is still so much life ahead.

Still here, still growing… and some days, I feel like I’m just getting started. ♥️