Today I woke

Today I woke with my head aching, dry and heavy like the heat had run too long through the night. The air was still, my body slow, but something about the moment felt sacred. Before the day fully arrived, I opened my eyes to the sight of my baby boy sleeping beside me. His breath steady. His face peaceful. There was nothing urgent, nothing loud, just the quiet, perfect presence of love lying right next to me.

I heard my partner's voice from the other room, gentle, low, waking up the boys, moving through the house like sunlight warming the walls. And in that soft, ordinary moment, I realized: I had woken up to a life I once dreamed about. Not perfect in the polished sense, but perfect in the way only real life can be. Alive. Honest. Whole.

I woke up to myself. Not some elevated version. Not the “best” version. Just the me who is here. Awake. Breathing. Present with all that is. I woke up to the beauty in what I already have, in what I already am. I woke up to the kind of fullness that doesn’t shout, but wraps itself around you quietly and says, you are held.

I woke to see my blessings, not because I went looking for them, but because they were already here. I woke to feel the rhythm of a life that’s real and rooted. I woke to experience the gifts that only come in the stillness before the world starts asking things of me. I woke to learn today’s lessons, even the ones I can’t yet name. I woke for me,not just to keep going, but to remember what it feels like to be here.

This moment, this simple, quiet, unfiltered morning,was perfect. Not because everything is easy, but because it’s true. Because it’s mine. And because I didn’t miss it.