Atlanta has given me so much. For the first time in a long time, I feel a deep sense of peace. Life moves a little slower here, the air feels easier to breathe, and in the middle of it all, I even found love — a good man who is all about me. That’s something I don’t take lightly.

But here’s the other side of it: peace doesn’t mean the loneliness disappears. Some days the quiet feels heavy, and I catch myself missing my daughter, my friends, and my family more than I expected. I can sit in the middle of this new life I’ve built — grateful for the love and peace I’ve found — and still ache for the people who once made up my everyday world. Both things are true.

My birthday was one of those moments. I wanted a simple celebration this year, and I truly enjoyed it — calm, no pressure, exactly how I imagined it. But even in the joy, there was this tug of missing my friends and family back home. The calls and texts were beautiful, but it wasn’t the same as laughing around the table with the people who’ve celebrated me my whole life. It was a reminder that peace can be real, and loneliness can show up right beside it.

Sometimes I wonder if it will always feel this way. Will I ever find community here? Or will I always carry that tug of missing home, but feeling a less lonely with time?

What I’m learning is that peace and loneliness can live side by side. Having one doesn’t cancel out the other. And maybe that’s the real lesson — life isn’t about choosing one feeling over the other, it’s about holding them both, letting them shape you, and still moving forward.

If you’ve ever been in a season where peace and loneliness meet, I hope you know you’re not the only one. Maybe we’re all just figuring out how to live in the “both/and” — and maybe that’s where the real growth happens.