Sometimes birthdays are  a bit of a pain, I mean at a certain age nobody wants to get older anymore. It is a representation of moving away from your youth, fun routines, and an overall sense of full maturity. With turning a year older we tend to reflect back on our past years- the highs and lows. Some lessons we have learned along the way to where we are today.

Which is why I want to share a must have list of a few lessons, facts, favorite quotes, and real life truths one can internalized and make their own:

• Motherhood is a beautiful mess. It is chaotic, terrifying, and rewarding all together. Somewhere I’ve read they don’t call it the “hood” for no reason.

• Marriage is not easy. You have to actively fight for your marriage and never give up on each other. Real relationships aren’t perfect, and perfect relationships aren’t real. What many couples forget is you both have to equally want it, so never give up on love.

• Find your passion, and stick with it. We will all have our own different paths. You just have to take pride in what you love.

• It’s okay to be a homebody. If this is you then it is perfectly okay. Nothing better than to have a clean organized home that makes you feel relaxed. When everything is in place we tend to find our sanity. And there is no better place to be yourself than at home.

• No one prepares you to be a parent, you just learn as you go. Being a young parent can be terrifying but be reassured you will survive.

• Friendships don’t last forever. They say quality over quantity. This is quite true.

• Treasure that one childhood friend. Although people grow apart I think its important to stay friends with at least one or two people from your childhood. These are the people that will keep you grounded and remind you where you came from.

• Give without expecting anything in return– or you will end up disappointed. Not everyone has your best interest in mind.

• The best support system you could have in life is and will always be your parents. Family is everything and sadly it’s one of the things we take for granted when we are young.

• Not everyone will like you, and that is okay. Don’t look for acceptance especially from those who don’t deserve it.

• Life is not a competition. There’s no such thing as being behind someone else, you can’t compare your own life to someone elses.

• Speak your mind. Have a voice, express how you feel or people will walk all over you.

• Learning to say “no” and not feel guilty for it.

• Know your worth. You learn not to take other peoples crap. Once you know time is precious, you will realize some people are not worth your time. You will know it is perfectly fine to walk away from toxic people.

• Get out of your comfort zone. Go out there. Meet new people, don’t be afraid to socialize with a new crowd. You will be surprised how much you can learn from them.

• You will always love your children deeply-but there will be times (many to be precise) that you will not like them, and that is completely fine. After all we’re human.

• Shopping alone is the only getaway vacation you’ll get. Might be exaggerating a bit- but it’s close enough to the truth.

• Losing the baby weight only gets harder as you get older. Our metabolism naturally slows down as we get older so finding time to exercise is needed.

• Spending Fridays nights you will find yourself at home ordering take out & catching up on shows with your husband. That is- after the kids have gone to bed and surprisingly you’ll be calling that the highlight of your week. Yes parenting life at its finest!

• Unplug from all Social Media. Do it at least once a week or two. You will thank me later. We tend to focus on the outside world too much that we stop enjoying our present moment here right now. Sometimes it’s good to enjoy that moment for ourselves without sharing it with the rest of the world.

• Learn to love what you have build.  Learn to love your home. Learn to love what you have. You have a roof over your head, food to feed you and your kids, and sure.. a stack of house bills to pay. But -You are doing the best that you can!

• “Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

• “Learn to accept people for who they are. Learn to reject them for that same reason.”

• Take time for yourself. Sometimes we tend to forget we can’t take care of others unless we take time for ourselves.

• “Fill your life with adventures, not things, have stories to tell not stuff to show.”

Photography by: D Trinh Photography

xo, Erika

from The Busy Life Plus Three