Last of the Thirties
I hit 39 this week. Doesn't feel too much like an end of an era the way 29 did. Back then I threw a party only to find that the partiers had dwindled to a handful of married friends who lived near by. Smug marrieds didn't warrant a visit from the still hip singletons and the rest of the gang had already moved on to pastures anew - house, garden, family and early nights. A fitting end to our roaring twenties. I celebrated my 30th by a weekend away in the Cotswolds with hubby, a weekend of spa treatments, relaxation and good food. The calm before the kids happened!
It's funny how my thirties have coincided with the recession and my twenties with a fin de siècle. Like the Great Depression, my thirties has tightening of belts, spreading middrifts, splashes of golden Hollywood (now the Super rich) and global trouble loaming. To be honest I will be happy to see the back of my thirties - whilst my career has gone strength to strength, it is a struggle at times to be responsible parent, citizen and bill payer alongside hitting the pause button every once in a while simply to smell the roses. Sometimes I wonder where the week has gone! At least I haven't felt that sensation yet that plagues so many of my friends - you know that feeling of 'this isn't where I thought I'd be at this age'.
I do hope though that my forties isn't a 'made and make do' era. It's bad enough already to feel worse off than a student at the end of each month, willing on pay day. And no I am not a spend thrift: you'd be amazed at how little you have left once taxes, mortgage, bills, childcare, travel and living costs are taken out. At forty I am due my first health check - a midpoint MOT for humans. Since I am a competitive Capricorn I want to ace the test. That leaves me ~11 months and 3 weeks to get fit and lower my BMI. Most importantly I am going to get glamorous again, you see I determined that my forties are going to be swinging!