Behind the Chair: Turning the Page at 37

There’s something about turning a year older that quietly forces you to look back before you look forward.

Not in a dramatic way. Just in the quiet moments— driving between school pickups, standing behind the chair with foils in hand, or scrolling through photos that remind you of how fast everything changes.

This year, in a few days, I am turning 37.

And if I am being completely honest, 36 was one of the most humbling years of my life.

Not because anything was wrong with my life on paper. My family of four is strong. I have two beautiful daughters. A husband who stands next to me in the hard moments. A career I love. Clients who sit in my chair and trust me with their stories.

But real life has a way of stretching you in ways you never expect.

This past year, our family walked through something no parent is ever prepared for — our 13 year old daughter being diagnosed with anorexia. Watching your child struggle with something that serious changes you overnight. It becomes less about fixing things and more about learning how to show up… again and again… even when you’re scared.

At the same time, our younger daughter is still living her beautiful kid life — navigating friendships, sports, and growing up — while watching her parents fight to help her sister heal.

Parenting suddenly became less about having answers and more about learning how to be steady in uncertainty.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that.. we lost our first dog, Sage.

If you know, you know.

The first dog your kids grow up with becomes part of the heartbeat of your home. Saying goodbye meant teaching my girls something that I am still learning myself — that grief is not something to hide from. That crying isn’t weakness. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do as a parent is let your kids see you feel it.

Thirty-six reminded me that strength often looks softer than we expect.

It looks like honesty.

It looks like saying, “I don’t have it all figured out.”

Because the truth is… I don’t.

At 36, stepping into 37, I am still learning how to balance being a mom, a wife, a friend, a daughter, and a woman who wants to do meaningful work. Some days I am good at it. Some days I am just trying.

And maybe that’s the real shift that happens as women get older.

We start realizing that being misunderstood by people isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Sometimes that misunderstanding has more to do with them than it ever did with us.

There’s a freedom in that.

Happy Birthday everyone. XO