My 40th

25 February 2023

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Generally i don`t really care about my birthday. But this year i really felt like celebrating! And so did I :-)

Already in January i decided to treat myself with a day off (while the rest of the world is at school or working). I like listening to Oprah Winfrey`s podcasts in the car and every `Super Soul` conversation starts with this quote

` One of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself is ....time. Taking time to be more fully present. Your journey to become inspired and connected to the deeper world around us starts right now.`

I like it and it is the gift i chose for myself. The idea of this day for myself has given me some much joy and energy for many weeks!

I used my gift, the time, first of all to stop (so hard because always so many things left to do...), to relax (thank you sister for the great Thai massage :-)) and then have a coffee on a terrace and look what a beautiful surprise came to me ….

With my mind fully calmed down and my stomach pleased, I looked for a spot in the grass where i stayed for a long time, reading in my book about rebalancing energy, watching the clouds, be in the moment, breath, feel grateful for my live ... it was just perfect....!

I shared my happy day with the kids by walking them to school at 9am and back at 3pm which has never happened before. They just loved coming home so early, spending time with a super relax mum.

The best is yet to come .... Friday night Thomas and i left for a weekend 'en amoureux' as we say in French, meaning romantic just the 2 of us. Susan had proposed to have the kids over for a weekend, an idea which had been received with equal enthusiasm from both kids and parents.

We chose a hike in the Blue Mountains (as it has been years since we walked at our own pace without kids to carry or to motivate). We did the Top Cliff Walk from Evans Look Out to Pulpit Rock and back: a 13km trail with 500m of elevation with impressive views over the Grose Valley, and a couple of beautiful falls which illustrate so impressively the meaning of the word.

Almost no humans on our track, lots of nice little flowers, a couple of black cockatoos, and some strange rain drizzles under a spotless blue sky. How can this be? ... a phenomenon caused by the valley winds carrying the waterdrops of the falls high into the sky and through the valley until they land somewhere to make the local fauna happy ...

After our hike we enjoyed a big beer in the local village, the warm bubbles of a hot tub in a cool breeze, and a romantic dinner with my dearest love.

Sunday morning we were all rested and ready to head back to fall in the arms of our kids again. We celebrated one more time: blowing candles on a big chocolate mousse. Njammie ;-)