2018 has arrived and its been almost a year since I last posted. I know, not cool. Right?

For a long time now I’ve known this day was coming, the day that I was too busy to face the screen and tap out some thoughts. It arrived a little quicker than I imagined. I think being in my 50's is catching up with me.

If turning 50 was supposed to be a big turning point, I didn’t feel it. Indeed I wake up everyday feeling a lot like I felt back when I was in my 40s. I don’t feel older. I don’t feel suddenly smart or senile. I definitely don’t feel wiser.

My wife showed me a video on Youtube called 'How to age gracefully.' In it people of gradually escalating ages offer one insight to someone younger than them. It starts with a 6 year old and finishes at over 100! Here's a link 

I had a great run over the past year. I published my book. I featured on some podcasts. I was 'discovered' by the media as an expert in all things emergency management. That found me interviewed in the media on all sorts of emergency related topics. I was also asked to write for other contemporary blogs and news feeds. Looking further back at the last decade, I made a pretty good showing. Best of all, where I did fall on my face, and that happened plenty, I was able to get back up and march on.

I think it is that underlying satisfaction that explains why I'm not too worked up about surpassing fifty. I also think that’s why I’ve never experienced a midlife crisis. In my head, at least, I'm just getting started. I’ve got more plans and optimism at this point in my life than I’ve ever had.

I don't have a lot of grey hair but it's coming. Each visit to the barber though, I see more grey than blonde falling to floor with each snip of the scissors. What I realise though, is with that grey comes the wisdom, experience, and the outright fun that has accumulated to cause it.

There isn’t really a point to this post. It started out as an attempt to get back to regular posting and commentary, but as I read it, I realise that the reason for my contentment today (and so far in 2018) is that people just like you care enough to read my blog, my book, and listen out for my podcast appearances or radio interviews and I wanted to share and say thanks.

Thanks to those of you that have contacted me, attended training sessions, conferences and seminars at which I have spoken also. Thank you … for everything.

Here's to 2018.