Not So Secret Journal

March is a funny old month for my family, we have the most birthdays and anniversaries that any single month can have.

We have a grand total of 8 birthdays, 3 anniversaries and Mother’s Day thrown in for good measure (because we aren’t busy enough).

I feel like we should spend all year just saving for March, like we do for Christmas. One of those birthdays belongs to me, and this year my age is starting to sound serious, (like old serious).

We were having a conversation in the playground the other day about dressing our age, but is there an age dress code? I mean when I was 10, older women 50 plus, would dress in long skirts or pants and nice blouses or jumpers, (it was the 80’s). I don’t think I ever saw my nan dressed in jeans and gym leggings (I don’t even think that was a thing).

Their hair was short and they would go to the hairdressers to have their hair set in curlers, ready for the week ahead.

Fast forward 30 years, and 40 is the new 30, (I am closer to 50, but who’s counting), I live in gym leggings and t-shirts, or ripped jeans and trainers. To be honest I don’t feel like I’m nearly 50, and I saw a meme on insta the other day which said, I’m at the age where my mind firmly believes I’m 29, my sense of humour suggests I’m 12 and my body possibly died in the civil war.

Mind wise, I do believe I’m younger than I am, and sometimes I forget how old I am, (not on purpose), but telling a little old dear on the train before that I was 37, forgetting I’m 47, wasn’t my finest hour, after she suggested some better face cream (rude, I can pass for 37, in the dark).

Sense of humour wise, (dear god), which ranges from around 12 to early 20’s, I laugh at inappropriate times, I say things that aren’t age appropriate, and I can be a little mean at times (but only to people who deserve it).

My body, well that depends, I feel like I can take on the world some days, other days, I’m happier with a cuppa, packet of biscuits and a nanna nap, but my new digital scales suggest I’m 49, so I’m going to have to sack off the biscuits for a little bit. Although someone needs to have a word with them and tell them when you lie about your age you round down and not up!

When our eldest started school at 4, I was one of the younger mums in the playground, now I’m probably one of the older mum’s, but who’s counting.

This whole “new age” thing has got me thinking though, do I need to start dressing age appropriately? I love my long hair, but do I need to start getting it cut shorter? And is there such a thing that you have to act your age? (I’m screwed if you do).

I’ve started stalking celebs on insta that were around my age when I was younger, obviously they have aged and I’m still younger (in my head), and I’ve started to look at how they dress, to be fair its virtually what I’m wearing, just my stuff is by Shein and Primark, and theirs is designer, but hey my budget is slightly smaller than theirs.

Most of the mums I’m friends with are younger than me, they haven’t yet started to complain that I smell of cats or pee so that’s a start, although I am allergic to cats, so that one would be a worry.

My birthday and Mother’s Day request is a pair of platform converse and most weeks you will find me hurling abuse at my favourite football team. I look after myself better now than I did when I was younger, but apparently that’s normal, I never had time to get my hair, nails or lashes done when the kids where small, I only just managed a 5-minute shower, and my best mate was dry shampoo.

I feel like I’ve been robbed a bit, when I was younger, I had an amazing body (well it wasn’t as fat as I thought it was) and I had time to pamper myself a little bit, then I had kids and my life went a bit chaotic, now the kids are older I have the time again to pamper, I just don’t have the money or the energy to get my body back to even a bit like what it looked like pre kids.

So will turning 48 change me, absolutely not, will I still be the same delightful, sarcastic me, absolutely, and will I start dressing my age, well this one depends on who you ask, but I will keep dressing how I want, because age is just a number right!