I’m not a birthday person, but these birthday reflections feel different this year.

Birthday reflections during recovery

This one feels different, though. Not because of balloons or plans (there aren’t really any), but because of everything that led up to it.

This birthday arrives in the middle of recovery: physically slowing down after abdominal surgery, navigating that strange space where your body isn’t quite yours yet.
It’s a humbling place to be. I’m used to doing, pushing, training, showing up at full capacity. These past weeks have been the opposite: patience, pauses, and learning that healing doesn’t care about your schedule.

And maybe that’s the point, isn’t it?

This year didn’t ask me to celebrate loudly. It asked me to notice.

To notice that my body, even when it feels fragile, is still doing something remarkable: repairing, recalibrating, coming back online.
To notice that stepping back doesn’t mean falling behind.
To notice that strength isn’t always about lifting heavier, but sometimes about doing less without guilt.

Finding strength in the in-between

Somewhere between weightlifting sessions, school runs, team planning, and trying to be everything for everyone, I’ve been reminded that life isn’t lived in the big highlight moments. It’s in the in-between.

Like planning a team meetup that isn’t really a holiday but still holds space for connection.
Like watching my daughter grow into her own person, navigating her world with a mix of confidence and innocence.

Adjusting goals without losing direction

I’ve touched on this already recently, but that’s a good part of my birthday reflections. Like quietly adjusting goals; not abandoning them, just reshaping them to fit the reality I’m in now.

There’s also something about this season of life that feels… honest.

Training hasn’t been linear. Progress hasn’t been fast. Menopause has added its own set of rules that no one really prepares you for. And yet, I’m still here. Still showing up, still figuring it out, still chasing strength in a way that makes sense for this version of me.

Maybe that’s worth more than any birthday celebration.

If I had to sum up what today means, it wouldn’t be about getting older. It would be about getting clearer.
Clearer on what matters, on what I can let go of, on the fact that life doesn’t need to look perfect to be meaningful.

So no big party. No dramatic reflections. Just a quiet acknowledgment: I’m here, I’m healing, I’m still becoming, if you will.

And that’s enough.