Sorry – that was a long intermission. The nausea fog is clearing, but the clouds of exhaustion still hang low…. anyway, back to my list. My Forty Fabulous Things I Love about Life (in no particular order) Part 2:

1. The colour purple
2. The way Poppy looks at me when she is naughty
3. Lists – making them, colour coding them, crossing them off
4. Planning and organising…. it’s an affliction I know…
5. The crackle of a fire and the heat from the blaze on a cold windy night
6. A heartbeat at that first scan
7. When a little hand reaches up into mine when I’m walking down the road
8. My husband’s laugh
9. Daisy’s goodnight kisses
10. Stepping off a plane on holiday and feeling a foreign sun welcome me
11. Green chicken curry
12. Sunday’s at home, pottering in a sunny garden with the girls running round throwing sand on the lawn.
13. Disappearing into a book and feeling like I live there on the pages
14. Every single thing about Christmas
15. Driving in the car (alone) and listening to music (other than the Wheels on the Bus) very very loudly
16. Colin Firth as Mr Darcy jumping into the lake
17. Saturday morning cuddles in bed with the girls, all warm and entangled
18. My family – and the fact that 40 years on I still want to spend time with my mum, dad and brother
19. The knowledge that the first half was great, and the second half will be even better because I will get to watch the best show on earth – my girls growing up
20. The thought that I’m going to spend the next 40 years of my life with him and them

So there we are. The celebrations are over, the presents unwrapped, the balloons burst. Back to getting on with this 40 year old life…. and just so I don’t get carried away with all the love and affection I’ve received the last week, my girls know just how to keep me grounded. When I told Daisy I was forty last week, she was quiet for a moment and then looked at me forlornly – “That’s old. Are you going to die?”