It took me a while to fall asleep last night, as Justin leaned over to say goodnight, he said “Happy Birthday baby” as it was after midnight. I lay awake thinking about turning 36, crossing into my later 30’s and how my mid-30’s treated me with growing my heart and finding peace in my life. Thankful for the years spent giving all I had inside to arrive where I am today.
And then I think I feel asleep :).
My Nana and I share our birthdays and this is the most special gift, a birthday blessing, to be able to share our day together. We spend all our birthdays being together, blowing out candles and making wishes for the year to come. Today my Nana turns 94 years young. She is my inspiration and just gets life. How lucky am I to enjoy all these birthdays with my ultimate life role model?!
We spent the morning on the phone singing Happy Birthday to each other; she’s always so amazed about how quickly a full year has gone by. “Even turning 94 doesn’t seem possible, but when you look back and see what you’ve accomplished, then it makes sense how so many years have passed.” True Nana wisdom!
She recalled the day I was born, my Papa and her were up in Vermont and didn’t expect me to arrive so soon, I was early. My mother called to give her the birthday news, my Nana only thinking she was calling to wish her a Happy Birthday but instead found out she had a fourth granddaughter, “her name should be Anne, today is Saint Anne’s Day”. Only my Nana would have that kind of knowledge, love her.
I could go on and on about the years of 30-35 and how much my life has changed in those five years and how my life is much different today than what I thought it would be in my early or late 20’s. When I turned 30, I knew I wanted life to look different, for our future, and now turning 36, I’m still not 100% sure how it all came to be but life is finally a reflection of who I am as a person and I’ve never felt more grateful.
And I think my Nana is right with her wisdom, when we look back, we see all we’ve accomplished and it’s a great way to quickly realize how growing truly is a wonderful thing, a gift. Thirty-five was a year of great change for me. It was a year I feel so overjoyed with the many blessings that came into my life, the loving people I met, the incredible families I photographed, it was all like a massive wave that swept me off my feet. I just couldn’t let 35 go without properly acknowledging how much I appreciate all its challenges and life-changing moments that was filled inside.
I have already been so spoiled today with text messages, emails, phone calls, special deliveries, I mean for real I try to keep my birthday low-key but my family and friends always show me so much love, thank you all!!
I am spending today with my Nana and family and we will most certainly be holding hands and blowing out our birthday candles–making wishes, together, for the year ahead!
Happy 94th birthday to you, my Nana. You are my greatest gift.
This picture is a personal favorite and was taken on our birthday in 2009. My mom and her siblings surprised Nana with a private plane ride around Hartford and she flew the plane, a forever dream of hers came true!
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Anne Miller is a self-taught natural light family photographer. She has over 13 years of experience in the field of television production and has worked and coordinated major domestic and international sporting events.
Anne has been able to translate her extensive storytelling and editing experience in television directly to her photography. She takes pride in framing moments hanging within seconds of time and capturing them in every photograph.
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Anne is currently booking for fall of 2016
For booking details, please inquire by emailing [email protected]
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