Wisdom By MissT

There is a wisdom that comes with age. When your laughter lines grow deeper, and the skin around your jowls begins to sag. When nights aren’t about passion anymore, but how quickly you can make it to the toilet without giving yourself wet feet. When the alarm clock no longer rings for school runs or early work calls, but instead there’s the quiet hum of a fan.

What I love more than anything about growing older is how sure I’ve become of myself. No more second-guessing. No more doubts: Am I good enough? What will they think of me? Is this too much?

It’s not arrogance—far from it. It’s an inner peace, and I’m still figuring out where it came from.

Therapy helped. When somebody tells you, “It’s not you, Tracey—it’s what you endured,” you start thinking differently. Differently about yourself, differently about others.

My life has felt like one long journey of survival, often running on bare minimum. People-pleasing to the extreme, silencing the voices that should’ve been heard most clearly—those of my children. Men were my priority; I can say that honestly now. My children came along in the back seat. It wasn’t intentionally selfish—I was misguided by the notion that two adults at the helm was better than one, that someone else should hold me up, too.

The things I’ve done, seen, and survived—no one should have to experience them. But God, I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.

Now, in this new season of my life, I can trust myself deeply. I trust myself to know that my family is at the heart of everything I do. From the years they lost me to depression and desperation, to becoming this wiser old owl who finally sees clearly what’s truly important. The past no longer defines me—it guides me. Every decision now revolves around the well-being and happiness of those I love most deeply. My peace comes from knowing I’m exactly where I need to be, finally rooted in wisdom and family.