This is 40

So I made it. I was a little bit apprehensive after I’d scheduled all those posts that I might pass away in my sleep – but I made it through the night . I touched down in Adelaide the night before – still 39 – and into a state that is actively policing borders. Our […]

2 till 40 – In the moment

Most of the time my mind is somewhere else. I’m thinking about the future or the past, what I have to do next or where I need to be, or wait… what was that thing I had to do? I’m rarely in the moment. I find it sometimes in the car when I’m driving – […]

3 till 40 – Family

We did goodbyes today with the family. It was great to be together and just enjoy the company. I’ve missed that physicality of being together during COVID. While going online has kept us safe its a diminished experience when it comes to family, because so much of those relationships are about proximity and closeness. You […]

4 till 40 – A Decent Pour

At dinner tonight with friends we drank wine. I like wine and so do my friends and they have these great big wine glasses. They’ve made wine – lots of it and so their approach to wine, and in particular how they pour it is a little different to me. I’ve always been stayed and […]

5 till 40 – Goals

I forgot to set goals for life. It never felt right, or helpful to do so. I’ve never really known what I’ve wanted and been content to navigate life as it comes at me. Occasionally there are things I’ll commit too, but often I’ve arrived there without that express purpose. In todays age of mindfulness […]

6 till 40 – Self Care

I went to a ‘proper’ barber last year and it changed the way I thought about self care. For the record I’ve had plenty of haircuts and in between there was about 15 years of long hair. But I’d only ever really had haircuts. I had a cutthroat shave in Turkey one time but I’d […]

7 till 40 – Breadth not Depth

I have never been great at anything. Good, but not great. Competent, but not talented. At the top of the class, but not THE top. It was frustrating as a kid when so much of school love was focussed on where you placed, but somewhere towards the end of high school I couldn’t care less. […]

8 till 40 – Mind AND body.

One of the mistakes I’ve made coming up to 40 is the total disregard I’ve held for my body. I’ve gone out of my way to push my body to its limits and punished it. Perhaps worse is that I’ve hardly paid it any attention to the point of neglect. Part of that is the […]

9 till 40 – Together

We’re having a party today. It’s to celebrate Mrs K and I reaching 100. 40 years each on the planet and 20 years together. Today is about family and friends. Some can’t be here today which is a shame, but it accentuates in a way the fact that some of us can during these circumstances. […]

10 till 40 – Countdown

I’m on the countdown to 40 years old. It’s really the first birthday where I’ve felt apprehension and a bit of fear. “Wow, I’m starting to get old.” I’ve lived a very privileged life and I managed to make most of my physical and life threatening choices early on so it’s been a bit of […]