They say life begins at forty, and I’d be inclined to agree with them. I have no complaints at all and I know that makes me very lucky; my good fortune is not lost on me, and I’m grateful every day for this lovely life I have. More so now than ever.
I won’t make this a long post. All I’ll say is that, as opposed to turning 30- when it felt like I should have my sh*t together but I seriously didn’t, I actually feel as though everything has fallen into place.
As women, we’ve been manufactured to believe we should have it all, that success is marked by how much we achieve – in finance, in health, in motherhood. I think we can have it all – but on our own terms, setting our own priorities. For me, success is being happy is actually pretty boring and not particularly ambitious about anything much. I want to feel proud of the work I do and respected for it, with a healthy balance of life outside work: I want to enjoy exercise without being a slave to it; I need a loving husband who supports me in taking care of our family, allowing time for each other as well as ourselves; I want to surround myself with wonderful women, my mum especially; I want to read books but also be totally okay with the fact I can watch hours and hours of Real Housewives entirely guilt-free.
It’s not ground-breaking and I’m not creating a legacy of any kind, scientific or philanthropic or entrepreneurial, but I’m happier than I’ve ever been and for me, that’s what 40 should feel like.
I wore one of my favourite Albaray dresses, currently on sale.
