Dear Frankie,

Here you are all wrapped up warm and cosy in the buggy.

For me it feels like minutes ago but I know for you it’s a whole lifetime.

My childhood felt like an eternity too, by the time I was your age I felt as though I’d learned everything there was to know about being a kid and I couldn’t wait to be a teenager.

I was told when I reached 18 I would become an adult and at 15 I thought I was almost there.

New studies have shown that young brains are still in development until around 26 years of age and that makes a lot of sense if you think about it.

The logical part of our brain functions in a higher state more into our 30’s and 40’s. Before then our decisions and actions are driven mainly through the emotional part of our brain known as the amygdala.

I wish I had known this growing up but times were different then.

Your Nana told me that in her day if you didn’t have a boyfriend by the time you were 20, you were ‘on the shelf’ and if you weren’t married by 26 your chances of spinsterhood were rapidly on the increase.

That must have been a lot of pressure for Nana and other young people back then. Most were encouraged to marry and have children by the time they were 26.

Times have changed Frankie, people have changed, the planet has changed.

I’m 49 years old and apparently that’s known as the new ‘30’s.’ I like that. Turning 30 was brilliant but I remember at the time my friends and I were dreading it a little as we thought 30 was old.

How funny and how wrong were we?

What I’m trying to say to you is this, you have your whole life ahead of you, your life, a life just for you. Spend time with your friends and family, study things, travel, explore the world and meet as many different people as you can in it.

Learn things, teach things, build a life you’re proud of and one day someone else special will see you, the whole you, the real you and together you might just conquer the world.

I’m not saying you’re not capable of conquering the world all by yourself, us modern women are unstoppable. I’m just saying our brains are hard wired for connection and healthy relationships are important to our wellbeing, for our souls, our minds, our hearts.

So there’s no rush you see.

Life is wonderful, take your time and enjoy it.

Forever yours,

Mum x