Five years from now… (Week 2 of Life Circle)

I will be happily living in Wellington, married to my husband of 17 years and friend of 24 years. Our three daughters will be aged 13, 10 and 6. My youngest daughter will have been at school for nearly 2 years (having started on her 5th Birthday).

I will be working part time to help pay our daughters school fees and for my own personal interest and development. I will be working mostly in term time as the long school holidays will be a busy and important time for me with my children.

My husband’s software development business will have continued to grow and I will have more time to actively help with administration, communications and marketing, where needed – and I will have up-skilled where necessary.

I may be teaching piano to a few children.

For recreation I will spend some evenings reading and writing short stories. With my daughters well out of toddler years I’ll be able to enjoy more complex art projects; not just be providing paints, brushes, paper and doing lots of scrubbing up afterwards! I will enjoy sketching and painting with my children on the holidays. I will have taken a few, short term art classes and enjoy illustrating stories that I write.

My eldest will probably still love music and dance. I will enjoy sharing her passions. My ten year old will be a confident horse rider and I will tag along on a few treks (with my daughter telling me what to do!). My youngest will be finding her passion and I will be there to support her.

My husband and I will take our girls on bush walks and camping trips. We shall be enjoying the great outdoors of New Zealand with our children now older, stronger and more able.

I will be aged 42, my husband 43. We will be more aware, than ever, of the necessity to keep physically fit, in order to keep up with our children. Regular exercise and a healthy diet will be mandatory for both my husband and I! For me daily walks or jogs, regular yoga and swimming will keep me strong (both mentally and physically).

As a family we continue to enjoy being active together, trying new activities and sports, like kayaking and indoor climbing, beach games and boogie boarding (I might even be on my way to learning to surf – would be great to catch a wave before I turn 40!).

Financially my husband and I will be working hard to pay off our mortgage (we will be well over half way, but having children at private school has slowed us down!). We’ll still be paying school fees for a long time and trying to have enough left over to take the occasional holiday and ski trip up the mountain.

Our home and environment is stable and perfect for our requirements. The children have plenty of space and the house is a lot less cluttered, now that the larger toddler toys are packed away, and the older girls help with chores a lot more. However I still do a large proportion of the housework! I also find myself chief organizer of my daughters’ increasingly busy social diaries, as well prioritizing regular date nights for my husband and I.

Meeting up with friends is easier now all my children are at school. I can actually meet a friend for lunch once in a while (without requiring a bag of tricks to entertain a child or two!).

I still miss family in the UK and they are always close in my heart. Now that my children are all five year’s older and more independent I start to think about the possibility of a solo trip back to see old family and friends for a couple of weeks. After thirteen years of committed parenting I figure a little independent trip might be just what I need!

My husband and I are feeling a renewed passion for one another, with disrupted sleep now a rarity. Our bedroom is our own again and a quiet, peaceful sanctuary. I have the energy to stay up in the evenings and watch a movie. We also spend a lot of time talking about life with a teenager in the house and where the next five years will take us all!

Two years from now…

My husband will have celebrated his big 40 (and I’ll be counting down to mine!).

With my youngest child a few months off turning four and about to start at morning Kindi I will have time to up-skill and prepare myself to make the most of the few extra hours I shall have every day when she joins her older sisters (aged 7 and 10) at school the following year. I’ll also enjoy regular exercise and time to have the house ship-shape for 3 o’clock when my older daughters and youngest will all need ferrying to various hobbies, help with homework and dinner. My husband and I will be finding it easier to spend time together – I even meet him for coffee some mornings. Healthy living is something we are all focussed on as a family and our older daughters take more of an active role in meal planning for the week.

Financially we’re chipping away at the mortgage, paying the school fees and saving up for a big trip to the UK in 2014 (2007 was the last time we went). We plan to go before our youngest turns 5 and starts school.

One year from now…

With my youngest at home full-time there isn’t that much difference to now – but she should be sleeping a lot better for me! But she’ll be 2 going on 3 and a handful guaranteed 🙂 Life will be a lot of fun and having taken a peek into the next five years I can see that the next few pre-school years with my youngest really are something to treasure like gold.

For me personally the biggest focus this coming year will be to make time to exercise for myself – yoga, jogging, swimming – to ensure I feel mentally strong and balanced heading into the future. And a few more ‘date’ nights for hubbie and I should definitely be on the agenda! I also look forward to making music with my daughters – who a year from now will be jamming away in harmony on the piano and guitar, if the current music and dance sessions in our home are anything to go by! Looks like I’ll have some competition to get my fingers to the keys though – ah well, drumming and vocals for me perhaps?!

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Joining in with Week 2 of the Life Circle.