Another Year, Deeper Still

Post:
It’s my birthday.
And this year, I’m not chasing newness — I’m choosing depth.

I’ve lived enough life to know that survival is holy.
That growth doesn’t always shout.
That sometimes the biggest win is simply still being here — soft, bold, wiser, and still willing to love.

This birthday isn’t about candles or cake (though I’ll take both).
It’s about reflection.
About honoring the girl I’ve been, the woman I’ve become, and the one I’m still unfolding into.

This year, I’ve carried joy and grief in the same arms.
I’ve buried part of my heart and still managed to show up with love.
I’ve advocated, mothered, built, cried, prayed, doubted, believed — sometimes all in the same day.
And I’m still here.

That’s not just aging. That’s becoming.

I’m walking into this year with more clarity.
More boundaries. More softness. More fire.
I don’t have to explain myself to be real.
I don’t have to rush to be relevant.
I just have to be — and that is enough.

So this birthday, I give thanks:
For my people. For my sons. For my husband.
For the breath in my body and the purpose in my bones.
For the ancestors who whispered me into this world.
For the God who has kept me through every valley, every yes, every no, every not yet.

I don’t take this year for granted.
It’s another chance to do what I was called to do — to love, to build, to rest, to speak truth, to heal forward.

So happy birthday to me.
To the girl who made it.
To the woman who’s rising.
To the legacy that’s still unfolding.

Here’s to the Sweet Between — and everything that’s still coming.

With joy,
Maya Simone Bailey Thomas Carter
Daughter. Mother. Wife. Writer. Healer.
Still here. Still held. Still holy.