for years, i have selected a word as my personal theme. at 34, my word was calm. i think i nearly mastered it. for 35, i chose: surrender.

as someone who has historically struggled with needing to be in control, i knew this wouldn’t be an easy feat. even still, i was also confident i could remain calm when things became turbulent. the universe has a funny way of testing us as my life more or less blew up at the start of february. luckily, i had a trip to the dominican republic with 20 of my favorite humans to planned. i highly recommend getting people together to celebrate your trips around the sun in big and small ways.

when traveling with groups, i believe in a balance of planned fun and leisure time. i asked everyone to be at a cocktail party —> dinner one night and invited anyone interested on a boat for a sunday funday. any other time, i would send a broadcast via paperless post so people knew where to find me at the resort. it was honestly so easy and there is nothing i love more than having so many of my loved ones in one place. below are some photos of those in between moments.

for the cocktail party and dinner, i asked everyone to wear black and/or white (as most have that in their closet). this was the first time all of us had been in the same place and it was such a blast.

and for the sunday funday on the boat, to say a time was had would be a gross understatement. there are three things that are ALWAYS worth saying yes to: a day on the water in the sunshine, an open bar and the additional cost for a photographer.

while there were hiccups with our travel agent, the resort was top notch, the weather was beautiful, the people present to celebrate me were extraordinary and the love i felt is immeasurable. arriving to the dominican republic already having the mindset of surrendering made the trip exponentially more enjoyable. when i think of the rollercoaster that 35 has been so far, surrendering was the only way to not just make it, but enjoy it.

i am already brainstorming for 36.

xoxo,

k. tap