Forty is just a number!

So the bridge has been crossed over and, if I'm truthful, it wasn't so very painful.

A few weeks ago, I'm embarrassed to say, I was stuck in a dark hole of not wanting to turn forty.  It's not forty per se, or ageing myself that bothers me, it's just that it does seem so final a number for all the good things that happen - getting married, setting up home, starting a family, watching and celebrating friends get married and have children. Forty just seemed to be the age of no more babies, seeing friends divorce (potentially - thanks guys for not doing this, very proud of all of you celebrating hugely high numbers of years wed from 7 right up to 43 as we speak!!), watching illnesses set into parents and older friends (luckily we aren't seeing this either).
Forty seemed to be the age of watching those crow's feet spread and the hips fill chairs. Ridiculous I know as there is still so much of life to celebrate, I suppose I just love life so much. I have loved becoming a wife and developing my role and style, and having my children that I didn't want to cross the bridge so start on the road to watching my own children grow up to have children...just yet...I suppose I didn't want to say my own personal journey in having children is actually over.

 However, now, I will just aim to become a wise, grey haired matriarch holding my family and children's children within my embrace. I will aspire to sit on the stoop in my rocking chair in my future years rocking my future grandbabies to sleep and watching my own children find their ways in the world.

So I have given myself a jolly good slap. Forty is just a halfway point in the good stuff. Forty is the time to watch the harvest of what has been sown before and it isn't an end point of anything, just think of the things that are achieved by the over forty club...and add to that the fact that forty makes you far more comfortable in your own skin, it means you don't particularly worry about what people think over what you wear, you can say what you like (within reason) and get away with it, you can complain about the temperature of a meal or price of a dress without raising too many eyebrows. Forty is the age when you can actually do anything because you're not "too young" or "too old".

So, how did we celebrate? Well, my terribly, wicked, wonderful, scheming, amazing, much loved friends and family were all in it together! Listening patiently to my whining about no one being able to make a date or find the time or cash to commiserate with me. I'm actually quite surprised anyone wanted to attend after all the self pity that reeled out over the past three months. It really was all seeming quite downhill.

However, the man I inflicted myself upon some 14 years ago, and thought I knew inside out, appears to have somewhat of a cunning and scheming side to him. I won't go into huge detail, but will just share some of the wonderful photos of my special day with so many of my special friends and family, some of whom travelled a very long way and others of whom I've not seen for over 10 years due to the travelling we've been doing.

Sis, Bro and my eldest's god mum and one of my oldest pals, Annabel.

Gorgeous Em and her handsome son, and a handsome son of my own in the foreground

Really! THIS lady should be celebrating today, it was thanks to her that I'm here...and Dad of course!

Love these ladies in their shadies xx

The cake! Such a wonderful montage of me and my life. Thank you x

What a wonderful weekend. Forty rocks!

This week is Easter holidays and I've brought the children up to Edinburgh for a
to meet with our friends up here.

We're chilling out, visiting some of the Science festival, drinking ridiculously sickly hot chocolates with marshmallows, doing some shopping...thank you Anthropologie for moving to Edinburgh... dodging the snow, eating Middle Eastern food and catching up with friends...oh and not forgetting a visit to the Bear Factory - of course to purchase an Easter Bunny!

Have a great Easter weekend xx