It’s my birthday today, and as the saying goes “Another year older, another year wiser.” Honestly, I’ve never really felt that to be true. As each birthday came round, I've definitely felt older. But wiser? Eh. Depends on the year, I guess.

However, as I sit here today, home alone in peace and quiet (if you’re feeling sad or sorry for me, please don’t; I’ve been holding out for a ME-day for aaaaages!), I’m definitely feeling very much older but also very much wiser than I was on this day last year. And it’s not just because I’ve realised that I do a lot more reflecting now than I ever used to (but seriously, even the word “reflection” makes me feel like a wise, old master).

While this year’s birthday is a quiet and restful affair, last year’s was the opposite. I actually had one of the nicest days I’d had in a long time because hubby had gone out of his way to try and distract me from the fact that it was my first birthday without our precious Dorian. Of course, as lovely and memorable as it was, it could only distract me so much. But even reflecting on that day shows me how far I’ve come in a year that I am now able to spend my birthday alone (until everyone else returns from work, school, and childcare, that is).

In fact, I’ve grown A LOT in one year. I’m not going to go into detail; I think I’ve covered a lot of my growth reflections of 2025 over the last month of blog posts. But just to summarise, between the ages of 33 and 34, I’ve:

1. Become a published author

2. Survived my first year of grief and loss over our precious boy.

3. Pioneered a new project at my health job and grown my leadership and clinical governance skills

4. Read the entire Bible for the first time

5. Advocated and put supports in place for our neurodivergent son

6. Made huge progress in personal growth, healing, freedom, and inner peace

7. Helped many mums (and women in general) feel seen and less alone

It’s no wonder I feel heck of a lot older and wiser today! And mind you, that was all in the first 1-1.5 years of losing Dorian. Even if I had just managed to get out of bed every day for a year, that would have been an amazing achievement in itself. So, forgive me, but today I’m going to brag about my growth because 1. I am so extremely proud of myself, and 2. It’s my birthday, so if I can’t celebrate me on my birthday, then when can I?

And that's actually another snippet of wisdom I've learnt in the last year - to celebrate; the small wins, and especially the big wins. Life's too short. Plus the world's become a pretty selfish place. So be your own and your best cheerleader!

And now, I’m going to go and enjoy a nice, relaxing day celebrating myself. Happy Birthday to me! Another year older, another year wiser, and another year of becoming more myself – my real self, not the me that people want me to be. Here’s to 34; may it be everything I hope for and more!