I am still every age I’ve ever been, and part of every place I’ve ever traveled. I do not want to forget what it’s like to be 7 or 17 or 27 or 37 or 47. I want to remember what is was like to taste ice cream in Switzerland as a 7 year old, hear a concert in Scottsdale  as a 17 year old, see the joy in my toddler’s faces in San Diego  as a 27 year old, smell fresh cut tomatoes and basil in Italy as a 37 year old, and feel the warmth of my husbands embrace in New York as a 47 year old.

Honestly, most days I get stuck in the mindset and body of a 49 year old. I trick myself into believing that this is the only me I’ve ever known. I am grateful for photographs and home movies and journals to help me jog the memories I carry inside my body.  I want to live with the childlike wonder, the teenage passion, the young bride’s joy, the industrious energy of of a mother of many, and the strength of the maturing woman.  As I am entering my 50th year – being able to access ALL of these ages and remain open to a childlike awareness will help me learn what is REALLY means to be grown up. #butterflybtc