I’ve spent the past couple of days in Newcastle — or Newy, as the locals like to call it — with Olly, who was here for work.
I decided to join him and start my birthday week celebrations a little early. We stayed at The Little National Hotel, which is such a cool place, and thankfully the lovely staff upgraded us to the Luxe Apartment. It was pretty special.
But what I love most about coming into Newy isn’t necessarily where I stay.
It’s the space it gives me.
Space to catch up with friends.
To wander around the op shops and cool little stores.
To explore.
To walk.
To swim in the ocean.
To sit on the beach in the Spring sunshine.
And to let my creative juices flow.
There are no interruptions. No complaints. No requests.
Just me.
And having this time alone made me ponder a few things.
Over the past few months, I’ve received quite a few messages online telling me that I’m “living my dream” — the dream I envisioned for Prana Estate — and that the stars somehow aligned for us.
And I’ve thought about that a lot.
Because the truth is…
The stars didn’t just align.
It was hard work.
There were massive sacrifices along the way, and most of all, Olly sacrificed a lot. He left the town he loved — Sydney — where he had his friends, his lifestyle, his work and, in many ways, had it all.
There has been blood.
Honestly, the number of cuts, bruises and splinters I get every week is actually quite hilarious 😂. But that’s part of my gig now, as caretaker of this land.
There has been sweat.
Lots of it.
And there have been tears.
Many tears between us.
Shared tears. Difficult conversations. Truths told that neither of us necessarily wanted to hear.
But that’s the thing about being a team. About partnership. About marriage.
We’re coming up to 18 years married next month, and nearly 25 years since we chose each other.
And marriage isn’t about everything always being easy.
It’s about taking the good with the bad. Recognising the sacrifices, the dreams, the wants, the needs — and sometimes the really bloody hard stuff — alongside all the wonderful things you’ve built together.
Even the renovation and build we undertook last year.
We now have a home that we genuinely pinch ourselves over.
We are incredibly grateful for what we created.
But would we ever do it again?
Absolutely not. 😂
It was hard.
And life is hard sometimes.
But you can get through hard things.
With communication. Not always perfect communication, but constant communication.
With truth.
With compromise.
And with the willingness to listen, even when the truth hurts.
One of the truths Olly has shared with me is that he misses Sydney.
He needs the energy of somewhere outside our beautiful, quiet, nature-filled home. He needs the social fix, the beach, the restaurants, the hustle and bustle of Newy.
And honestly, I love that he’s found a way to have both.
He gets to do a job he dearly loves, while part-time living in two worlds.
And the funny thing is, every time we come to Newcastle, we eat somewhere new — and the number of exceptional restaurants we’ve discovered is ridiculous. 😂
And then there’s me.
At 46, I realise just how lucky I am to live this life.
Lucky that I was brave enough to walk away from a 23-year corporate career.
Lucky that I recognised that the life I was living in Sydney was no longer what I needed — or what I could continue to handle.
I needed space.
Nature.
A place to raise our girls to be resilient, capable and kind.
A place where I could focus on my wellness business and help people who, like me, have experienced burnout, exhaustion, the relentless mental load that doesn’t switch off at night, and that constant, nagging feeling that you’re simply not enough.
Because here, I feel enough.
I am healthy.
I am genuinely happy.
And I get to watch my girls grow into thoughtful, capable little humans who can fix things, help around the land and take responsibility for the world around them.
But none of this happened overnight.
It has been just over four years since I left corporate life — a decision that changed me drastically.
I’ve become a woman who wears many hats.
Business owner.
Caretaker of the land.
Mum.
Wife.
Wellness practitioner.
Cleaner.
Gardener.
Builder.
Creator.
And probably about 17 other things on any given day. 😂
Prana Estate is finally starting to pick up pace.
But it has been years in the making.
So as I approach 46 this Sunday, I feel less interested in celebrating a number and more interested in acknowledging the journey.
For believing in myself.
For believing in my vision.
For choosing the right partner nearly 25 years ago.
For having the courage to speak my truth, even when I knew it would hurt the person I loved.
For making a decision that, at the time, I didn’t fully understand the impact of — but ultimately created a healthier, happier life for me, for our girls and, nearly three years later, a life that Olly now gets to enjoy too.
I know how fortunate I am.
I know that so many people don’t have the choices, support or opportunities that I’ve had.
And I don’t take that for granted.
So this isn’t me saying, look at my perfect life.
Because it isn’t perfect.
It has been messy.
Hard.
Expensive.
Exhausting.
Beautiful.
Rewarding.
And sometimes really, really painful.
But it’s ours.
And now, after years of hard work, we are finally getting to enjoy the fruits of it.
So if you think the stars simply aligned…
They didn’t.
It took grit.
Determination.
Courage.
A supportive partner who has your back.
A willingness to speak your truth.
And a purpose that keeps pulling you forward, even when you’re exhausted and wondering whether you’re doing the right thing.
And maybe that’s my biggest lesson as I enter 46:
You can create the life you want.
But sometimes it takes years.
Sometimes it takes sacrifice.
Sometimes it takes courage to choose something different.
And sometimes the life you dreamed about takes a very long time to become the life you actually get to live.
And that’s okay.
Because here I am.
Grateful.
A little bruised and battered. 😂
Still learning.
Still creating.
Still dreaming.
And finally, really beginning to enjoy the life we worked so bloody hard to build.
Here’s to me, my 46 years, and whatever comes next. 🤍
And here’s to many more years ahead. ✨