chapter 36: blooming through it all

today, i stepped into chapter 36 of my life—thirty-six years of breathing, breaking, mending, and becoming. thirty-six years of being reshaped by storms and softened by sunlight. thirty-six years of carrying scars like maps, each one pointing toward the places where i have risen, fallen, and risen again.

life has not been easy. it has demanded pieces of me i didn’t think i could give, it has bent me until i thought i would shatter, it has hollowed me out and left me staring into the quiet. and yet, here i am. still breathing. still standing. still writing. still becoming.

for every ache, there has been beauty. beauty in the laughter of my children, their voices like wildflowers sprouting through cracks in the pavement. beauty in the love of my wife and partner(s)—each of them a steady force, carrying me when i am tired, holding me when i am weak, celebrating me when i forget how to celebrate myself. beauty in the stillness of dawn, when the world feels suspended and the air is heavy with possibility. beauty in the chaos too—in messy kitchens, in car rides filled with song, in the quiet understanding of simply existing together.

if thirty-six years have taught me anything, it is this: life is never just one thing. it is hard and it is breathtaking. it is bitter and it is sweet. it is fleeting, fragile, and yet somehow stronger than we can ever imagine. and it is always, always worth living.

to grow older is a privilege. it is proof that i have endured every storm meant to undo me. proof that there is more for me still. proof that blooming is not something reserved for the young—it is something that continues, endlessly, for as long as we allow ourselves to rise toward the light.

so i welcome chapter 36 with open arms. may it be wild and unrelenting. may it be soft and forgiving. may it remind me daily that i am still alive, still blooming, still capable of becoming more. may it be filled with laughter, with love, with moments so tender they break me open, and with strength so fierce it roots me deeper into this earth.

chapter 36, i am ready for you.

with ink + bloom, 🌻