As September fast approaches, turning 40 feels like standing at a bit of a crossroads. I’ve found myself reflecting not just on the years that have gone by in a flash, but on the life I’ve built within them. And when I do, one thing becomes clear. I have loved (nearly) every second of it.
#1
My greatest achievement is and always will be my two children. They’ve shaped me in ways I never thought possible, testing my patience daily, teaching me more about myself than any other experience ever could and deepening my love. There’s no milestone that compares to watching them grow and knowing I get to be part of that.
#2
Then there are ten of the best years spent in Cambridge. A decade living in the most beautiful city in the world, buying our first home together, making friends for life, enjoying culture, vibrancy and energy at every turn and living an existence that seems like a distant memory, but for one that is still so pure in our hearts.
#3
Travelling around the world on your honeymoon isn’t something that many can say they have experienced, so we really are the lucky ones. Saving hard for two solid years gave us the most incredible opportunity, starting in St Lucia before heading across to New York for Christmas and Las Vegas for New Years Eve. Then it was down to Peru, Brazil and Argentina, across to New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and our final destination, India. Exploring the world opened my eyes in ways nothing else could and it really is something we will never forget.
#4
Somewhere along the way, I also took a leap of faith and started my own business. What started as a an opportunity I couldn’t turn down grew into something real, something sustainable and something I’m genuinely proud of. Setting up a Limited Company in the height of Covid wasn’t a guaranteed success, but that’s part of what makes it an achievement – the resilience, the risks, and the determination it took to keep going. And I have never looked back.
#5
And through it all, there’s been love. Sixteen years of marriage, still strong and still choosing each other. That in itself feels like quite an accomplishment. Not perfect and not without challenges but the reality is everything I need it to be, and more.
Forty doesn’t feel like an ending or even a midpoint. It feels like a celebration of everything that’s been and a quiet excitement for everything still to come. If the first forty years have taught me anything, it’s that the best parts of life aren’t always the loudest. They’re built slowly, day by day, in the choices we make and the people we hold close. Age really is a privilege. And that feels like something worth celebrating.