Gosh, this thread is so wonderful – I feel very lucky to be reading all these stories and perspectives. I want to respond to everyone individually – and there's a LOT here!
@MaltipooMama what you say about a few 'fallow' years followed by one full of changes and events feels very true for me right now. Which makes sense – it's how things work in nature, right? Winter, spring, death, life, inhale, exhale. I feel like I'm on the cusp of an exhale after a good few years of quietly breathing-in – and it's a bit unsettling but exciting too!
@Itsdefinitelytimeforanamechange I hope some of these stories might give you some hope in the midst of feeling like 'happy' is too far away for you to reach without monumental changes. Sounds like many of us hit that point, and what I'm hearing in this thread is that we can simply never predict what's around the corner.
And again, @NoddyfromToytown2024 - no apologies necessary. You're in the thick of what sounds like a monumentally difficult time, especially in the context of womanhood, and it's important (to me at least) to speak the truth of what it can look like to be a person in the world. I'm glad you posted (and I'm sending you a hug).
@Twilightstarbright what an amazing turnaround – I hope you're proud of yourself. Sometimes one moment of insane courage can pay off in unimaginable ways, right?!
@Unexpectedlysinglemum I love what you've said about peaceful and loving female friendships. With so much focus on romantic love and connections, our platonic friendships get devalued in a way that I don't think serves us at all. A good reminder for me to nourish those in the same way I'd tend to a romantic partnership – thank you.
It's all making me think about 37 as part of a transitional time that's worthy of examination as much as the clearer 'stages' of life (the archetypes of Maiden, Mother, Crone – maybe we need to add 'Menopause' in there too!).
Feels as though it's a period that for many of us has been about re-negotiating who we are and making changes to prepare for the next stage – and that doesn't perhaps get the considered attention it deserves.
Again, I'm feeling very lucky to be reading all these different experience and perspectives.
Mumsnet can be a spicy place sometimes, but it's threads like these (and posters like all of you) that I keep coming back for – I have no older sisters, my mother isn't in my life, my grandmothers are gone, and right now I feel like I'm getting some of that intergenerational wisdom that many of us have lost in modern society. Really grateful – thank you and keep the tales coming!