{Photos from the best birthday as of yet}
Let's be honest. It was never going to rival dancing with a village of children under the warm Sri Lankan sun but last week I said goodbye to my 20's.
With a toddler and a newborn to concentrate on I struggled to find much enthusiasm in regards to parties and presents, I have everything I need apart from rest! I was very lucky to get a massage and reflexology, which was exactly what my tired and achey body needed after all the hours child rearing and baring.
Being here in the countryside has meant that for a while I have all of my family around me. It has been a very long time since we have all been together and I wish it could go on forever. We went for lunch with them and my oldest friend (we will be celebrating 25 years in 2015!). So as the rain poured down outside we talked and laughed with some good food and a bottle of wine.
I am looking forward to my next decade. So far ageing has been a pretty wonderful thing. I have said goodbye to so many of the anxieties and issues that haunted both my twenties and my teens. I am so much more aware of who I am and what I want and am more determined than ever to find ways to achieve my dreams. So, I have made a list of my ambitions for the next decade...
Travel: This is my number one ambition. For as long as I can remember I have had wanderlust but have had no one to walk the earth with me but was too scared to do it alone. I now have a wonderful family who are ready and willing to explore this world together.
Yoga: Yoga has been a big part of my life for the last two years and has played a big part in me finding some inner peace and accepting myself physically. I would love to be able to say that I have practised yoga everyday since my 30th birthday, even if it is just a couple of sun salutations and the closing sequence, to have made it a consistent part of my life and daily routine. I am also hoping to do my yoga teacher training, one day I would love to teach, but for now just to do it for myself.
Family and friends: The recent upheaval has really brought home how important being close to the people I care about is. Although, geographically, I will never be able to be close to all the people I love as they are scattered throughout this country and others, I can work harder to keep in contact through letters, calls, Skype and emails. There are friendships that I regret not working harder to maintain, I do not want to look back on my life with that regret ever again.
Impact: I would like to find someway of making a positive impact on the wider world. There are so many issues I feel very strongly about and feel ashamed that I only contribute to the signing of internet petitions. We have started by sponsoring two young girls in our daughters names, to celebrate the blessing of our daughters by helping someone else's daughters thrive. I hope to get more involved in local issues and to volunteer as the girls get older and I am able to be away from home for longer periods.
I hope, with work, I can make all of these ambitions a reality.
