I try and live my life by this mantra. When the kids say “it’s too hard” I try and respond with something along the lines of “that’s okay. We do hard things in this family.” Or if they say “I’m scared” I say “it’s okay to be scared, but let’s do it anyway!” I was about to book for Marty and his son Thomas, and my four kids to go on Aqua Splash with Uncle Jacques and his girlfriend Sarah. I don’t generally participate in this kind of activity, instead opting to leave it up to Marty to go on and supervise.

I even remember, years ago, thinking that I would go on Aqua Splash once I lost some weight. Well I lost some weight, but thanks to peri-menopause, I’ve put some of it back on, and I just realised, there is no point in waiting. There is no right time. I’m tired of missing out on all the fun, watching from the sidelines. So I decided to join them this time. I was feeling a bit nervous leading up to it – silly things like finding the right sized life jacket (that was easy) and would I be about to actually do the obstacles? And what would happen if (when!!) I fell in the water? Would I be able to haul myself out??

Quinn was extremely nervous, which helped me to stay calm, as I had to be brave for her. We jumped into the water at the start, and made our way over to the obstacles. It was pretty daunting I must say! And the first few things you have to climb over had me quite puffed! But it didn’t take us long to hit our stride and my goodness we had such a great time!!

I read something recently about how mums often plan the fun, pay for the fun, make sure everyone else is having fun, but sit on the sidelines and watch. I’m so tired of doing this. I’m so tired of feeling held back by my physical and mental blocks, and I just want to get out there and give more things a go with the kids and Marty. Obviously being fitter and stronger will make this easier, and I know that if I hadn’t been going to the gym for the last 5 months, and trying to workout at home where I can, I would have found this experience much harder. I was really proud of myself for giving it a go, and look forward to taking on more challenges this year!