The older I get, the more I appreciate the smaller things in life.

Throwing open the curtains to see the sun is shining; sitting next to a lake and hearing nothing but the sound of bird song; a spur of the moment day out; a cheeky breakfast at a diner, with pancakes piled high; sitting in the garden and watching the butterflies float from one flower to another; getting together with friends and family and laughing at memories until my sides hurt.

But I also like the opposites: a rain-lashed storm that produces inky, moody skies; the hustle and bustle of a trip to London and joining the hordes of sight-seers; a sofa day watching back-to-back recordings of a favourite show; late-night lazy meals watching the sun set (in fact, any sun set will do); working hard pulling up weeds and making the garden look half decent again; 10 minutes of solitude where there’s nothing to think about at all.

It all comes down to making sure you’re making the most of each day, whether that be running around packing it all in or stopping for a moment to take a breath and capture a memory.

Last weekend, we went away for a few days and I accidentally left my watch at home. Just for a while, it was bliss – life was dictated by what we wanted to do, not when. But day-to-day, I live my life by deadlines.

Of course, there are some things in life you can’t always have and most of them are lost with childhood.

At what age do you stop running, I mean really running almost to the point of falling over, just for the sheer thrill of it? When does bellowing at the top of your voice until you’ve lost your breath stop becoming a childhood tantrum and just turn you into a weird, angry grown-up?

Why is it OK for a four-year-old to wear a tutu to the shops, but a 44-year-old perhaps shouldn’t (ok, you can get away with it if you’re the arty or rock chick type, but eyes would be widened in mockery if I tried it).

I did turn a cartwheel in the garden at the weekend just to check I could still do it. It wasn’t too bad for an ex-gymnast but the back flip was definitely beyond me.