What can I say, my dear….
I’m still reeling back from the high of last weekend!
Turning 40, surrounded by friends and my sweet mom, was a beautiful memory I’ll forever treasure.
And I think one of the best parts about all of it is that internally, I feel a shift, like a new chapter is opening up. I feel proud and excited to say I’m 40!
But this feeling didn’t just happen because of the magic number...
The last two years have been pivotal in me really beginning to live my dreams and cultivate life as I want it, not the way I thought it should be or the way I was told would make me happy.
Maybe you can relate, but I grew up believing that success/happiness at 40 meant a husband, kids, a house I owned, and having a lot of stuff. (To be honest, I thought I had to have that at 30!!)
The truth is, there is nothing wrong with any of those things. If I had met the right guy and we walked down the aisle, had some kiddies, and bought a house all before 40, I’m sure it would have been amazing.
But it didn’t go down like that…
And if I kept letting that be the measuring stick for my happiness and “success”, my 40th birthday would have been a reminder that I failed big time.
After my engagement fell apart in 2014 and I was not so successfully dating in the years after, I did start to panic a bit…40 was approaching and I was still single…no kids, and no home I owned either. So I had to ask myself a big question a couple of years ago and it was this:
“If this story isn’t turning out the way you thought it should, what dreams do you need to stop putting on hold? If it’s just you, what is the new dream? What have you kept putting off doing?”
The biggest answer was travel and living abroad.
This might sound overly dramatic, but I feel like there was life before my first trip to Italy in 2016 and life after. It opened me up in such a way, I have not been the same.
Then last year, I took another leap.
Organizing my first retreat to Italy and restructuring my life so I could spend 2 months there scared me to my core…but it was worth every risk! It seemed inconceivable just a couple of years ago, a dream I would just write down year after year without fruition….and then it really did happen!
Now by the end of 2018, I will have spent at least 3 months of this year in Italy!!!
Is my life perfect now because I went to Italy and stayed there for a spell?
Umm, no, not by a long shot.
BUT…
I am a much more vibrant woman with a lot more confidence in myself.
And I see things very differently.
Less “either/or” and more “yes/and”.
And as for the other dream of marriage/kids/etc.?
Well, I don’t know if it is the cards for me or not, but I know I will be happy either way because I really see now that I can have a complete and happy life no matter what as long as I am good and true to me.
And I’m appreciating the freedom my life provides. I’m realizing that marriage/kids/house doesn’t guarantee a happy ending anyway…but nurturing your soul and filling your life in a complete way is a vital to happiness.
I think my confidence in myself, my full life, and the fact that I have taken the pressure off myself to get it all locked down by a certain time, actually makes me a way cooler woman to date now anyhow! 🙂
That first trip to Italy and all the “go with your gut” moves I made after that shifted my life in ways I never would have imagined.
This is why I am sooo excited about the possibility of taking you with me on the next Pleasure Path Retreat happening September 15-22 in Tuscany.
Travel and saying yes to your life are gateways to change.
I’ve created an entire experience for you to have your very own “turning point” (whether you are single, married, or just blissfully in love!), to get back in touch with what lights you up, to have a grand adventure in the most beautiful country, and to have SO MUCH FUN with a small group of incredible women.
Come visit HERE to learn alllll about it!
We have just 4 spaces left and I’d love for you to come!
I’m here to answer questions, concerns, etc,, so don’t hesitate to write me back and ask or set up a time to talk.
I hope if this is intriguing to you, if your heart is saying “I wanna go!”, you’ll follow that nudge.
Life begins on the edge of the nudges we follow…I can’t imagine turning 40 had I not followed mine.
Sending you love and thanks for being in my world,
Anita
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