Three decades ago, I celebrated my 30th birthday in the time-honored tradition of all young people who think they are an adult but have no real idea about life, duty or personal responsibility – I got smashed. In fairness, I had quite a lot to get smashed about. I had spent the whole of my 20s in one seedy rental after another while I supported myself with part-time jobs and tried to be a writer. But a week before my 30th, I got my first book deal and, the day before, I got my first real job in journalism.
Two years after that birthday party, while I was still single and living in a bedsit, I found myself pregnant with my first child. The father and I moved in together six weeks before our baby was born, at a stage in our relationship when I was saying, ‘Do you, um, have sugar in coffee?’ That baby, Alice, is now 27 and lives in Berlin. Her sister Mabel is 22 and on the cusp of leaving home – and the man I got to know while we changed nappies together is 63 and staring at retirement. And me? Implausibly, I’m 60. How the hell has that happened?
NEW LONGING
I no longer live in a bedsit – I have my own house and am financially secure. In fact, I have all the things I’d craved three decades previously: a relationship that produced two beautiful children, a home and a successful career. But as I contemplated entering my seventh decade, there was only one thing I wanted: to lose all those things, temporarily at least.
Denne historien er fra February 26, 2024-utgaven av WOMAN'S OWN.
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Denne historien er fra February 26, 2024-utgaven av WOMAN'S OWN.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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FAST & THRIFTY DINNERS
Filling family meals to save you time and money
ARE VIRAL FITNESS TRENDS WORTH THE HYPE?
Keen to know if the workouts she sees online can actually make her fitter, Rachel Tompkins, 44, gives them a try
GO OUT OF SEASON
While some European cities seem to go into hibernation over winter, others just get better in the colder months
MY LIFE IN MUSIC
Monica Cafferky, 55, reveals how certain tunes bring back special memories
THE DECISION THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
After trying diets without success, Breanne Concannon, 31, was left feeling hopeless
MY TOY ΒΟΥ KEEPS ME YOUNG
For Trish Hughes, 44, the thrills of being married to a man 20 years younger is worth all the judgement
'THAT'S NOT MY BABY'
Lying in the hospital bed, my husband Michael had tears of happiness in his eyes as he showed me a photo on his phone. 'Here she is,' he said proudly. 'This is our beautiful baby girl.'I stared at the photo and shook my head. 'No, that's not my baby,' I said. 'There must be a mistake.'It was August 2010 and I'd not long before had an emergency caesarean. I'd not had a chance to see Winnie when she arrived as she'd been whisked away for tests because she was nearly two months premature.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Hayley, 45, has her son to thank for crucial evidence
'I'D LOVE TO DO EASTENDERS'
Loose Women's Linda Robson on the daytime show, dating and her next career move
Beckhams INSIDE THEIR PROPERTY EMPIRE
We take a look at the power couple's posh pads
