"30, Flirty, and Thriving"… But Also 80, Achy, and Spacey

They say your thirties are when you find yourself...your voice, your power, your peace.

And honestly? I feel that.

I just turned 30, and in so many ways, I am thriving

I’m finding my rhythm.

My healing.

My softness and my strength.

I’m showing up in marriage, in therapy, in faith.

I’m making smoothies and playlists and TikToks and dreams.

I’m writing my story with bold ink and open hands.

I am Thirty, Flirty and Thriving...

But Also?

I'm 80.

Physically.... My body screams long before I do.

I'm achy...In ways most people don’t see. Pain they'll never know. Pain I've learned to carry daily. Truthfully I don't remember my life without pain anymore.

I'm spacey....thanks to fibro fog that makes even the simplest tasks feel like wading through syrup. Writing something down and re reading it only to find I didn't write the words I thought I did. The fear...watching my mind slowly deteriorate before my very eyes...

I track my meds and tape my muscles. I use massage guns and heating pads like love letters to my pain.

I cancel plans sometimes...Even physical therapy sessions or church...not because I want to… but because my body chooses for me...because sometimes I can't get off the couch or out of the bed.

And yet, I thrive.

Not in spite of this reality, but inside of it.

I thrive in the softness of honoring my limits.

In the beauty of slow mornings and deep breaths.

In the honesty of saying “I need help” without guilt.

In the resilience it takes to show up when I’m running on 40% energy but 100% heart.

Because here's the truth:

You can be mentally thirty, flirty, and thriving

while also being physically eighty, achy, and spacey.

They’re not contradictions.

They’re coordinates on the same map.

They are me.

And maybe, just maybe…

Thriving isn’t about always feeling "good"

It’s about choosing joy, choosing softness, and choosing you....even when your body tries to tell you not to.

---

Kristen, Unfiltered Xo 💋