Halfway to Paradise?

I had a serious ponder moment recently. Never good I know. I recently celebrated a birthday - I turned 48. And amidst the jollity & best wishes & bottles of Krug & sets of Doris Day coasters (oh yes - the BEST presents) it suddenly struck me - even if I get very lucky with the old bones thing - and I mean VERY lucky - I am over halfway through this thing called life! I will be damn lucky to get another 48 years. Wow. How did THAT happen?


And so of course the backwards glances start. What have I achieved over the first 48 years? Have I wasted them? On pondering I have done a lot - a lot more than most who were born where & when I was. I got out of the council estate & into university and managed a decent challenging job in London straight out of uni. I've also lived & worked abroad, travelled the world and I saw in the new millennium from the deck of a yacht in Sydney Harbour. I've stayed at The Ritz, learned to scuba dive, had my heart broken & no doubt broke a few, bought my own house all by myself, and after much searching finally found 'the one' & got married.That said it all feels like it happened very quickly ....


So what's for the next 48? Especially if they go so fast! Right now the desire is to step out of the rat race & run away! After a few birthday treat days in Lancashire & Yorkshire, the low stress life & fresh air is very very appealing. So who knows - at the risk of sounding maudlin (and I really don't mean to be, this realisation has not depressed me, it has genuinely surprised me!) is it finally time to accept my limited years & be brave & just make the most of what's left? Is it time to start my very own 'bucket list'?

And then I remembered this from Hunter S Thompson:

“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!”

What did I say about birthday Krug?!