By middle age, we have accumulated experience and skills that enable us to offer well-meaning advice to those younger.
The simple fact is we’ve lived longer and have experienced more than our younger counterparts.
I remind my children regularly that our generation has a lot to offer.
I don’t rue the naivety of my lost childhood, nor do I have that feeling of I wish I’d known then what I know now.
Life is a tapestry of experience and life enriches us through learning.
There are times when I wish I could retreat from well-informed adulthood back to a time of carefree innocence when the only thing that mattered was what we would have for dinner.
But that’s governed by recent world events. We simply didn’t worry when we were young because we didn’t have the knowledge and understanding we gained through living.
It is easy to get stuck in the same narrative; if you keep doing the same thing, you’ll get the same results.
I am endeavouring to match the vitality and optimism of my youth, where life hasn’t diminished my zest and audaciousness for living.
But it’s hard work, a combination of tiredness and menopause, and current world events are enough to dim the receding flame.
I don’t have the same energy levels, but I have the determination and obstinancy to discover new things and read as much as possible.
My youth was synonymous with trying new things, adventure and daring were my middle names, and I am adopting the same approach to middle age.
Climbing the highest mountain in England is my next challenge.
But if there is one thing I’ve learned through menopause, that is not to allow an ageist narrative to narrow my views; one that says just because you are a certain age doesn’t mean you can’t do the things you did in your youth.
Throw caution to the wind and exploit every day.
Time is of the essence, and never has there been a better time than now.
