As I prepare to welcome my final year in my thirties, I feel drawn to capturing my experiences over the past decade.

If my twenties were about obsessing over my career dreams, my thirties were about giving myself over to motherhood.

I had all three of my kids in my thirties – Daniel at 31, Ella at 33 and Luke at 35.

Since 2008, I have either been pregnant, in labour, breastfeeding or running after little people.

For a hard-nosed, career-driven Capricorn, I was surprisingly quickly in formation and ready to take up motherhood with great gusto.

I guess it helped to have achieved my teenage dream of commentating in my twenties, which allowed me to devote almost a decade to raising my children, and being a hands-on mom!

Today – as I said goodbye to each of them at school, I could feel the end of an important phase in my life.

What does the next chapter bring? Time to welcome a new era!

First, I want to enjoy being 39 – my final year of calling myself a 30-something year-old.

It may just be time to let my hair down, and celebrate this full-circle moment.

As I reflect on the past nine years, I am reminded of an Oprah Winfrey quote: “You can have it all. Just not all at once.”

 

Photo 1 caption: As I begin my final year as a 30-something year-old, I reflect on my thirties – nearly a decade filled with mothering and motherhood. Image: Supplied

Photo 2 caption: “You can Have It All, Just Not All at Once”  – Ophrah Winfrey. Image: The QuotePedia http://www.thequotepedia.com/images/32/you-can-have-it-all-just-not-all-at-once-time-quote.png