Find joy in your life
we are all about having a “can do” attitude at woman&home – hence our “yes you can” message on the cover this month. but we don’t mean this to be a rallying cry to become some sort of superwoman – that would be far too exhausting! Our mantra is meant to encourage all women to live their best lives and find the thing that makes them happy.
One feature that I hope you’ll find inspiring is Back from the brink (p56). We all wonder how we would cope if something awful happened in our lives, and the three extraordinary women we interview describe how they found hope when the worst really did happen. I’d like to thank Martine, Emma and sarah for sharing their tales of courage and resilience, as I think these sorts of stories help all of us get perspective on what’s important in life.
I am also inspired this month by retired community nurse Judith noble, who describes how she finally found her mojo in her sixties (p96). she started driving a sports car and booking adventure holidays in far-flung places like china and Iceland, proving it’s never too late to discover what brings you joy.
One woman who certainly has a can-do approach to life is our regular columnist Allison Pearson (p17). Every month she seems to hit on a topic that taps into what we’re all thinking, and this issue her words of wisdom definitely resonate with me because I have a teenage daughter. Isn’t it bemusing how young women (including us back in the day) are so negative about their looks? Why is it that you can’t be thankful for your youthful beauty until it’s gone and you realise how gorgeous you were? Anyway, Allison points out the positive in this conundrum when she says, “Those of us with a few decades of life under our belt are finally able to start relishing what’s right about us rather than what’s wrong.”
I went to sunday lunch at my friends Marie and ben’s house recently and the invite said “dogs welcome”. I’m not sure when my social circle became so obsessed with their canines but there were 12 of them mooching about and generally causing chaos around the buffet. As a gathering, it would rate as one of my top social occasions ever because everyone was so relaxed. The guests were mostly publishing types and included high-flying editors from The Times, the Daily Mail and Marie Claire, but any rivalries were put aside as we discussed our four-legged companions. Dogs put you in a good mood and warm your heart, don’t they? Apologies to those of you who are cat lovers but we’ve devoted four pages this month to why dogs matter (p78). OK, so I’m biased in my pet admiration but I can’t help myself.
Finally I want to say what a pleasure it was to meet Cold Feet star fay ripley (p12). This is a woman who is very grateful for the good things in her life, and her self-deprecating humour and down-to-earth approach make her so likeable. she laughs about always being described as
“the real one” but in my book, real makes her authentic and the kind of woman we love on woman&home. here’s to keeping it real!
“Our mantra is meant to encourage all women to live their best lives and find the thing that makes them happy”