35.

Today is my thirty-fifth birthday.

It's funny.  As I get older, it seems that birthdays come and go without much pomp and circumstance, and that's perfectly fine with me.  I find that rather than it being a day to celebrate my seemingly small existence in this gigantic world, it's become more of a day for me to reflect on how well I used the past year...

Did I hug without holding back?

Did I love well?

Did I let my girls know enough how deeply I adore them?

Was I a good spouse or a good friend?

Did I make it count?

While I'd love to say that every moment of year 34 was spent wisely, I must admit that there were moments I missed because I was tired, or irritated, or just too caught up in my to-do list to look up at the world around me.  

But there were also times that I think I got pretty close to getting it right...

35. (sheesh)

Here's to making life beautiful, one day at a time.