It was my birthday week. Golden light, my hometown beach, my partner and my child beside me and when the phone came up, I found a reason to leave. Because that isn't the body I wanted back after the pregnancy, and I didn't want it standing there forever.

I protected myself from the picture. And I lost the day.

This Heart Note isn't a pep talk about loving your body. It's about the quiet trade so many of us make every summer without noticing and the surprising place it shows up next.

The instinct that pulls you out of the photo is the same one that pulls you back from the person who loves you.

In this episode:

• Why summer exposes something in adults that children never feel
• The trade you think you're making and the one you're actually making
• What "being seen" really means (and why we hear it far too small)
• The thing a newborn taught me about being loved with nothing to offer
• One question to carry with you this week

If you've ever deleted a photo of a happy day just because of how you looked in it — this one's for you.

🎧 Wednesday's replay goes deeper: an extract of the self-love and romantic love episode, and what it means to feel at home in your own skin.

Here is the full episode, if you are curious to listen to it

• Apple podcast link
• Spotify link