Scrolling through Facebook in June 2021, I noticed an advert pop up for a pack of cards called 50 Things To Do When You Are 50. I was a week away from my 50th birthday and I’d already decided I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. I’d imagined having a 1980s-themed party but COVID-19 restrictions meant I couldn’t see anyone. So, I bought the cards!
A few days later, a little black box arrived. I put it on the kitchen table and my husband Andrew, then 54, and our children Hannah, 22, and Alan, 20, gathered around as I opened it. Inside were 50 little envelopes, 45 of them with suggestions of things to do and five blank cards to make up your own challenges. ‘Better get planning!’ I beamed.
‘Do something scary,’ Hannah read from another card. ‘Skydive?’ she suggested with a cheeky grin. In all my five decades, I would’ve immediately and firmly said no. But, I reasoned, you’re only 50 once…
HOT-AIR BALLOON
Before the sun had risen on 6 May 2022, my sister Diane, then 48, and I drove to Petworth in West Sussex for our maiden flight in a hot-air balloon. As well as ticking off the ‘take a trip in a hot-air balloon’ card, it was also a celebration of 30 years since Diana had had a kidney transplant. The pilot lit the burner around 6am, and we slowly rose into the sky. Climbing higher and higher, we watched as the clouds cleared and the sky turned a warm, orange colour and the sun began to appear. It was an incredible morning.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 12, 2022-Ausgabe von WOMAN'S OWN.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 12, 2022-Ausgabe von WOMAN'S OWN.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Is it ever OK to lie about your age?
Kaye Adams has done it, and even Mel B jokes that she doesn't believe friend Geri Horner is 51. We ask...
‘I DIDN'T THINK.I'D SEE MUM AGAIN'int ICAT AFAR
MelB on rebuilding her life rebuilding her life after her abusive’ marriage
8 WAYS TO BECOME A MORNING PERSON
Improve body and mind with just a few simple tweaks to your daily routine
WHY YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST LOVE
(laire Dore, 50, learnt a lot from her first serious relationship
WHAT'S THE NAKED ATTRACTION ?
After a host of celebrities admitted to stripping off behind closed doors, Natalie Brown, 43, decided to bare all to find out just what all the fuss was about
MY FURY AT BEING A GRAN AT 52
Shona Sibary was far from excited when her eldest daughter welcomed her first child
A YEAR IN THE MAKING
Many of us shy away from drastic change but for these three women, it was just what they needed
I LOST 6ST AND FOUND THE REAL ME!
Shay Al-Ajami May, 32, was fed up pretending to be happy, so she decided to make it a reality
WHAT DO YOUR FEET SAY ABOUT YOUR HEALTH?
From heart disease to arthritis, here’s what they might be trying to tell you…
HOW CAN WE HELP OUR CHILDREN?
With more young people facing mental-health crises, we investigate what needs to be done