Hellooo lovely people, gave you a fright there did I?! I’m 42 today! Woohooo? I know, being 42 might seem like an odd thing for me to go putting out on the internet where everyone can see, though Facebook kindly reminded me (and everybody else) that my 42nd birthday was coming so I guess it’s news to nobody. Plus my running number has had a bright red 40 shout-out on it for a while already, so it’s not like being over 40 is new to me. But oddly enough this 42nd year is the first time I’ve noticed how close my birthday is to Halloween. Maybe it’s not that odd, maybe it’s obviously obvious that at 42 I would start noticing the scary.
Do you know what I mean? No? You must be under 40. As an annoyingly happy morning person, even I will admit there are some scary things about being 42. For example, people start saying “You look good for your age.” Hell thanks man; no one ever says that when you are twenty-five. Then you just looked flipping good. And these days at the ripe old age of 42, just as I’ve learned how to gather bits of my brain together to do some useful things again, there are bits of my body that are sending up some orange lights. I can’t name and shame them in case it’s one of those self-fulfilling prophecies. (It’s code for I don’t want to think about it). The most recent horror was receiving an invitation to my twenty-year law school reunion. Twenty years! I couldn’t deal with that number so I decided to spread the joy and immediately phoned my dad. “You are the official owner of a middle aged daughter” is what I said. We laughed hysterically and then swiped the call off as quickly as it started. I suspect we both thought “oh F**k” and then gave in to the urge to run away. We are that kind of daddy-daughter. Our genetic ties are tight.
Jokes aside, it is a bit scary being 42 (about eight years from menopause I reckon) but it’s not THAT scary. I have an abundance of riches right now: a great husband, children, parents, siblings and friends who are healthy and happy and who all make up my life’s happiness. It wasn’t always like this and I realise it may not always be like this either. I could never even have imagined it at 22 or 32. It took me all the way to 42 to have these lovely people around me. Back then I didn’t know I had so much to look forward to. Now I’m determined to make the most of it. So all things being saggy I’ve decided to ignore the scary, and here’s what I have to say on my birthday;
BOO to you 42! You may remind me of the Chinese philosopher Yung No Mo but I’m happy to see you, thanks for the gifts – I had the most amazing day!!
Have fun my friends, sneak some chocolate and have a laugh on me (relax, tomorrow can be sugar – free …)
Love
Q
PS I know it’s been nearly a month since my last post – where the hell did the time go? I missed the blog but I needed a bit of brain space so I took a break. Okay not so much the brain space that I needed (there’s plenty space for all my nonsense thoughts in there) but I ran out of time. Bunch of things happening in and amongst the usual crazy but it’s been kind of exciting actually; I’ve been looking at cover designs for my book Being Kari, getting some professional photos taken for the publicity parts, trying to get going on my next book. That’s where my brain is overflowing with stuff, if only it translated into time for more than three hundred words right now. But keep a look out and I’ll update the Being Kari news here on the blog, it’s easier ’cause somehow I become a stuttering mess and start sweating when anyone dares asks me in person. Publication date is still set for April / May 2017 and there’s some editing and proofing that will happen before then. I can’t really tell more as I’m a newbie to this publishing business, I’m just putting one foot in front of the other. It feels a bit like having a baby – from the time the publisher nods to the time the book is in store it takes about nine months. Then for a long while there’s lots happening behind the scenes that no one can see; and as the baby breeder you never feel like you know what you’re supposed to be doing. I’ll let you know when there’s something to know!
