35, is the new 25…

So, yesterday was my Birthday.
I turned the big Three, Five.
I’ve got mixed emotions about my mid Thirties status.
I’m now, as Cory so kindly pointed out, closer to Seventy than my birth.
I’m now a bona fide adult.
It’s inescapable, I am nearing Forty and nearing middle age.

But, I’m choosing to embrace my new maturity.
I choose to see ageing as a positive, there is actually nothing negative about it but, your own frame of mind.
My adulthood will be a turning point for me. A new, brave, exciting chapter.

Firstly, I feel healthier and fitter than I did at 25.
I respect my body and treat it with kindness these days.
I have left behind all my evil Twenties habits… Smoking, Hangover’s, Botox.
I would rather go for a run than sit on the couch eating Doritos.
I would rather end my evening at midnight after enjoying a bottle of good wine, with a Ginger and Lemongrass tea, than wake up after 4 hours sleep to a migraine, memory loss and a vomit cloaked mouth.

Look, don’t get me wrong. I don’t see myself as boring.
I still love a good cocktail and I can stay out dancing all night if the celebration calls for it, weddings etc… Although, if you ever see me in a nightclub, you can be certain an Alien has abducted and killed me, and is now wearing my skin as a disguise.
But, I can actually have a night out… And, not get hopelessly drunk.
WTF…?
Yes, you know you are truly heading towards the middle ages when you can go out with good friends and say goodnight at midnight after a lovely evening of great food, great wine and great conversation and then wake up the next day feeling fresh enough to exercise or weed the garden.
Hmmmm... saying lovely is also a definite sign of old age…

But, secondly, I feel as though I have more life to live now, than I did ten years ago.
Who was Bree at 25?
She was young (obviously), she had new career (Travel Agent), she could not speak in public or a group size larger than 10, she had dreams (but was too scared to chase them), she was full of doubts and inhibitions, she cared way too much about what everyone thought of her.
Who is Bree at 35?
She is still young (obviously), she has a new career (Food), she loves speaking in public, she has dreams (and will never stop chasing them), she still sometimes has doubts and inhibitions, she has learnt to not give a damn what anybody thinks about her.

So, raise your glass (of soda water) for the Dirty Middle Thirties!
Here’s to growing old, hopefully, gracefully.
Here’s to knowing, that you don’t know everything… Actually, here’s to knowing, that you actually know bugger all.
Here’s to being responsible enough to remember Wednesday is bin day.
Here’s to all those lovely little twenty-something whipper-snappers, nipping at our mature age heels.

In honour of my Birthday, I’m celebrating with my favourite muesli bars.
Yes, I could gift you with a delicious cream laden, Torte recipe, but whoever said ‘Let them eat cake’ obviously wasn’t concerned about high Cholesterol and other ageing afflictions…
Seeya next week xxx