My birthday was this week. (Y'all, this is my last year in my thirties... how did that happen?!) Anyhow, I enjoyed my day. I have to say this time of year is usually the most stressful for me, but I was determined to REST and ENJOY my birthday this time.

So I did.

Birthdays (and terrible migraines and sickness the other days of the week) give you a big yellow permission slip to rest and just be still for one solid day, don't they?

Chris got me a Chemex and all of the fun things that go with it, so I made a beautiful, slow cup of pour-over coffee in my Momaw Bertie's cup, puttered around the house, and read a new book. I made a leisurely breakfast of eggs and greens and I listened to music that no one in my family likes except me. I went to Fresh Market and shopped for coffee and pretty food. Including chocolate birthday cake with ganache. My sweet babies made me lovely cards of all shapes and sizes, and sang to me probably eight or nine times throughout the day. The kids couldn't find a #3 candle in the kitchen drawer, so my birthday cake said "59." (Um, they could have been kind and just used a 1 or a 2, right?!) EVEN SO, I FORGAVE THEM. And most mysterious of all, I shut down my email and stayed away from social media the best I could (I'll thank you all for the birthday greetings eventually, I promise!)

Extroverted as I am during sessions... playing with your children and carrying on conversations, getting to know you and what you love about your family... oh, I can do that for a few hours or even days at a time, but I'm actually quite the introvert at heart. For me to recover from most sickness or even an overly busy week takes a great block of quiet time and solitude. So I hunkered down for the duration. 

Both a blessing and an inconvenience, but as Emily puts it, when your heartbeat feels more like a drumbeat, it's time to slow down and pay attention. 

Today I've attempted to re-enter the world again. My email is open. I've been editing, fueled by eggs and bacon and coffee and leftover birthday cake. I have beautiful sessions to share, families to surprise, and galleries to launch over the coming days. I'm so excited that I get to do this.

And that feels like the best birthday gift ever.