Just A Small Town Girl…

Once upon a time, this Small Town Girl used to religiously dedicate each of her birthday-eves to writing a blog post reflecting on the year that had gone by. 

This had been a tradition of mine since circa 2013. Fast forward to my 31st birthday last year and I broke my longstanding tradition [insert crying face]. And then lo and behold, I let my 32nd birthday go by unblogged too.

I turned 32 three weeks ago, but this year it just didn’t sit right with me to leave my special day unmarked – because this year for me was a unique one. So I felt it was only right to put pen to paper and share my thoughts and feelings on it…as belated as it may be!

Now most birthdays in my 20s were spent in the City. I’d typically organise an activity for myself and a group of friends to do during the day and then at night we’d get our glad rags on and hit the town until the early hours of the morning. Either that, or I’d be in some random destination abroad. 

This year however, I blew my 32 multicoloured candles out at home while cradling a 34 week-strong baby bump and balancing a 17 month old on my hip. And do you know what, I wouldn’t have it any other way; this was by far one of the best birthdays I’ve had in years!

As the birthday cards rolled through the letterbox and presents (mainly from my husband ❤️) continued to accumulate throughout the day, I have to say, I felt truly and utterly blessed. I had that warm fuzzy feeling of sheer appreciation all day long and I honestly can’t remember the last time I felt like that. 

It’s also crazy how something as seemingly insignificant as getting a Happy Birthday text message can make you feel so grateful. Maybe it’s because I’ve long since deactivated all of my social media accounts so no one gets those obnoxious birthday reminders about me, so when someone does reach out on my birthday I know it’s genuine. It also reminds me that they’re a special one. And the older I get, the more I know how few and far between those special ones truly are, so I’m very thankful for the number of well wishers I can still say that I have at my ripe old age!

I don’t know, maybe I’m just getting soft in my 30s, or perhaps we can blame my pregnancy hormone overload… but I just felt very appreciative this year. 

Professional life-wise I may not be where I’d like to be (#redundant) but personally, I don’t think it could get much better than where I’m at. Hand on my heart I can say that I’m genuinely content with life as it stands right now.

That’s of course not to say that I don’t have moments where I sob uncontrollably and miss my old life or flip like a switch and become consumed with anger at the smallest things…I am human. But on the whole, I have many more good days than bad and I know the set-up I’ve got isn’t one to take for granted.

So here’s to 32 being a year filled with positivity, good vibes, more warm fuzzy moments and of course MORE BLOGGING :).