Apologies for being MIA but I’m using every spare minute I etch away from ‘mum camp’ on revising the latest of my book edits. But I have to post this one quick or else the 39 and 3/4 will cease to apply! So, for what it’s worth, here’s what I’ve learnt as I exit my thirties:

 

 

• Even though the calendar tells me I’m about to turn forty I feel exactly the same as I did at twenty. No one tells you that the ‘older’ outstrips the ‘wiser’ like dog versus human years! I’d say I’m only incrementally wiser than I was twenty years ago.
• Nothing worth doing is ever easy. Yup, it’s true. Life, marriage, work, children – individually they’re hard, combine them, and you’ve got a lifetime of sweat and toil right there. None of them are easy, but they are worth it.
• With every crisis comes opportunity. Granted it’s not want you want to hear while in the middle of a crisis, but it’s true.
• Love endures, it just does – always. If you want to find love, you will, even in the most unlikely of places.
• More things scare me now. A lot more. But only by doing the things that scare me, can I grow.
• Each day is precious – appreciate each ordinary damn day – even the grey and rainy ones! This is so difficult to do. It’s what I know, it’s what I’ve learnt since being thirty, but I’m still struggling to practice it.
• Find a good colourist. You’ll be seeing a lot of her.
• Be the best version of yourself. That’s all you can do and it’s enough. Surround yourself with people who think it’s enough.
• Marry someone older – it’s a guaranteed way to always feel young.
• Persistance is more important than talent. I’m still hoping this one is true and that I can achieve my publishing goal in my forties.
• Quality over quantity.
• Look after yourself, no one else will do it for you. Get enough sleep, eat well, exercise, make time for the things you love.
• The decade between thirty and forty goes really, really fast! Enjoy it.
• This too shall pass. Bad times don’t last, but neither do good. Hold on tight,  rejoice in the journey and appreciate every damn day – even the crappy ones.

In other news, I’m learning how to increase my ‘GRIT’ and will pass it on in a post soon. We’ve our summer holiday still ahead of us – it entails a small boat and five children  – what can possibly go wrong? I’ll see you on the other side.