There She Is

I am so thankful it is spring.

The longer days, the sunlight, the return of warmth,

something in me rising to meet it—

make me feel like I have finally, truly come back to life.

I have never been good at hibernating.

My spirit is restless.

It wants to move, to be challenged, to be in the world—fully, deeply, vividly.

And yet, over the past too many years, that part of me has been muffled…

completely silenced at times.

And everything that happened last year brought me into a season of stillness I didn’t choose—but needed.

Not just hibernation.

Recovery. Restoration. Rebuilding.

And now…

I can feel it.

The truest, brightest, most authentic parts of me stepping forward again, turning toward the light.

I’ve caught myself thinking, almost with a smile,

“Oh… there she is. That’s the Katherine I’ve always been.”

But tonight, I realize something deeper.

I haven’t just returned to life—

I’ve returned to it fully.

And I am not the same.

I am more refined.

More distilled.

Months and months of careful, intentional work have been the scaffolding beneath this change—

weaving together self-love,

standards, boundaries,

self-protection,

and the practice of radical courage—

reshaping me into someone who may look familiar on the outside,

but is fundamentally different within.

Not angry.

Not hurt.

Not bitter.

Not closed off to life, or love, or goodness.

But open.

Steady.

Joyful

And already receiving the beautiful things life has to give.