#Before40

My #Before40 list has been a thing for a while now. I don’t hit the big four-oh-no for another 15 months, but I feel there’s so much I want to do before then.

It’s kind of like the millennium bug, in my head. Remember that? The uncertainty of what was going to happen at 00.01 on 01/01/00. Would airplanes screech to a halt? Would systems implode? Would holes-in-the-wall start spitting notes? Or, would things continue to tick on, just like any other day?

I think my forty thing stems from a pretty lacklustre beginning to my thirties – a time overrun by fertility tests, proddings and pokings. You name it, we went through it. We eventually ended up hitting the jackpot on our first IVF attempt and, T (our son) was born shortly after my 32 birthday – 3 years after we’d set out to bag ourselves a baby!

In the months after he was born, I realised how detached from my friends and life I’d become. While we were going through our many tests and procedures, I barely saw anyone other than those at work and immediate family. I made a habit of cancelling plans last minute and, in the end, I just didn’t make plans at all.

So, upon returning to work eight months later, I set out to ‘re-claim’ me! (I know, right…knob… ‘reclaiming me’ was actually a thing in my head). And there began this notion of a #Before40 list – I say notion, because I’ve never really written it down; it’s just a bag of ideas I have of things that, if I could do them, would show me that I was in charge of ME. IVF meant handing over every bit of me to the medical wizards and absolving myself of any control – I hated that. I don’t even follow diversion signs because I don’t like someone deciding my route!

So, here are a few of things I’ve decided I’d like to do, because I can:

Coasteering (did it last week – was amazing – maybe I’ll write about it).
Tough Mudder (NEVER going to happen – but it’s still on my ‘list’).
A big swim. I’ve just rediscovered swimming and I love it.
Crochet something useful!
Start a blog to record my ramblings. I think FB-kers are tired of my lengthy posts!.
Get a tattoo – go large or go home!
Earn my PhD… not now possible, but I almost made good progress on this, until I unexpectedly discovered baby no.2 was due. (It’s definitely a keeper for the #Before50 list though).