Forty Something

Reading Hardeep Singh Kohli's column in Scotland on Sunday about being catapulted into his fifth decade has caused me to reflect on where my life has gone since we separated almost a decade ago.

It's all rather a blur, being the breadwinner and main carer of two teenagers didn't exactly leave much time or energy for anything else, but the children haven't turned into the feral creatures Bob Geldof predicted. They both seem happy, achieve and get on well with others. Although bringing up children on my own was never part of the bigger plan, the philosophy of no recriminations and making the best of any given situation has always stood us in good stead. I recommend it to anyone whose marriage breaks down.

Now there is much to look forward to and I hope Hardeep is right - the forties are the new thirties, the fifties are the new forties and the sixties have been abolished. I'm actually older than Hardeep, although I'm not going to say by how many years. Recently after a mishap (see my post Haggis Smuggling ) my GP did suggest perhaps I should grow old gracefully and not try to outdo our 21 year old son on the ski slopes. Nae chance.