Semi serious trigger warning: if those ‘end of decade achievement’ lists that were doing the rounds a few weeks back made you feel shitty then I suggest you move on from this post!
Usually when I write for Wicked Wednesday I’ve got something to get off my chest. Whether it’s a rousing post about body positivity, reflective pieces about affairs of the heart, the occasional takedown or little odes to the joyful bits of my life, there’s usually been a few sentences bubbling around in my head for a few days before I start writing. This week nothing of the sort! But I wanted to write something for the 400th week so last night I found myself googling ‘400 weeks ago’.
Four hundred weeks ago was Tuesday 29th May 2012. ‘I wonder what I was doing then?’ I thought. I flicked back through endless screens of my Outlook calendar and found that I was at home in North Wales watching the Olympic torch pass by the end of the road where I grew up. Wow. Thinking back to that summer, when we were such an open happy country is almost too painful to think about as we face our last 48 hours in the EU. How much has changed? What a different country and world we live in. I started to wonder how much has changed in my world in the last 400 weeks. And it turns out, quite a lot. And when I see it written down, it makes me feel fabulous. And we all need to feel fabulous every so often.
- I set up my business, nurtured it through the baby years, kept it alive during some difficult toddler times and this week, at six and a half years old, our total invoiced amount went over £1,000,000. Not huge numbers for some businesses but for our little two person band they’re figures that make me (us) so proud.
- I threw off the cloak of, if not total celibacy then a very dry patch, and dived headlong into a world of joyful sex and dating and in the process learnt (and continue to learn) so much about my body and emotions.
- Through the joyful dating I discovered non monogamy and the place in relationships that best suits me, giving me the opportunity to build connections with people while also maintaining my independence.
- I set up this blog and what a ride it is. Hundreds of naked photos and thousands of words later and I’ve been photographed by professional photographers, stood naked on a stage in central London and had my own work hung on a gallery wall in New York. It’s changed the way I think of myself and it’s helped other people change how they see themselves. But best of all I have met the most amazing group of women who I really can’t imagine my life without.
- I trained for and ran two marathons and raised nearly £11,000 for two charities.
- I had an epic 40th birthday party where I hired a whole pub and 120 friends and I feasted on mini burgers and cheese and got through gallons of Prosecco.
- I bought my flatmate out of our co-owned flat and turned the bland space into a home and workspace that I love so much and that’s been the scene of many wonderful social gatherings, sex adventures and comedy photo shoots.
- I embarked on (and achieved) a crazy travel challenge to visit all the EU member countries before we were no longer members.
This list makes me so happy. I’m going to remember I wrote this and when I’m disgruntled with life and love, having a bad body day, feeling too lazy to exercise or I’m skint because a client hasn’t paid I’m going to look at this and remind myself of what I got done in 400 weeks.
Congratulations Marie on your 400 weeks and thank you for keeping a fab bit of the community going. Here’s to the next 400 weeks!
I wonder what the next 400 weeks holds for me? Who knows. If someone had shown me the list above on the 29th May 2012 I’m not sure I’d have believed any of it. Except the epic 40th party. Definitely not Brexit.
But things I hope will be on the list would be:
- Hopefully the business will have turned into a more self-sufficient teenager and I’ll only need to look after it three days a week.
- I’ll have had and continue to have lots more joyful dates and sex adventures, especially more threesomes, group play and organised parties. And rope. And wax. And photos of all of those things!
- Another marathon.
- I’ll have visited 100 countries before I’m 50.
- I’ll have had an epic 50th party.
Those are the things I’ll work on. The rest I’ll leave to chance and opportunity. But I’ll grab a couple of glasses of fizz and tuck one under my arm as I go!
I, personally, love these sort of lists. They make me happy for others. I love to see the positivity spreading when it is so easy to complain. It’s good to take stock of the wonder and beauty…the fruits of our labor…and celebrate. Congratulations on all that you have accomplished!
This was fun to read, and I loved your Trigger Warning.
What a wonderful post and amazing achievements. Hope you are feeling proud. I would be x x
Missy x
What a wonderful list of achievements and so much more to come. I can vouch for the fact the 50s are even better than the 40s, but less work is vital 🙂
I love your list, and it made me think to make my own, just to remind me of all we have done, and not continue to be sad for what we have lost. I have been working on that, but it’s a (very slow) work in progress. Thank you for writing something for this week, E40, for your continued support, and and again, for this positive post!
Rebel xox
What a fabulous list! Well done!
Congratulations! That list of accomplishments is epic! I look forward to following you for another 400 🙂
Congratulations – that’s quite a list. Makes me wonder what kind of amazing things you’ll do in the future!
A wonderful list. You did indeed accomplish an awful lot in those weeks. Good luck on completing your future goals too.
I love this list and well done on all your achievements! Goes to show how much can change in just 400 weeks!
This made me think back on where I was 400 weeks ago. Things were pretty dark for me then, but I have come so far since that time. That is a great list of accomplishments for you! Congratulations!
I’m sorry things were dark then, but hurrah for how far you’ve come. It’s a funny exercise doing something like this.