Hi friends.

I had a realisation last week, and it shook me.

Eighteen years ago today, I had my last baby. This beautiful kid is our son, and today he became a man. He was a smiley baby, then an absolutely Terrible Two. My oldest son was Easy Child (I blessed him with sushi and babycinos, and he blessed me back by behaving perfectly.) This kid was the one who would LAY DOWN IN THE GROCERY STORE and scream like I was torturing him because I said no to a chocolate bar at 9am.

This one is a skater (see the skateboard?) and he loves people. A memory: picking him up from Tae Kwon Do after school, and hearing the boys chanting his name: they were carrying him on their shoulders through the hall. He was 7.

This one I worry about: after this final year of high school, I want him to go to uni, find a great career, and be successful.

BUT…

It’s none of my business what he does. Not really.

He’s a man. He’s his own person. He has a life path that has nothing to do with pleasing his mother. I gave him breath so he could live his own life.

His birthday reminded me of this important truth.

It’s none of my business what anyone does. You, my neighbours, my friends, my family. (Exception: my husband. It is my business what he does..haha, just ask him…)

It’s also none of my business what you think of me.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember…

• It doesn’t matter if your people (and your family) are wrong about you.

• It doesn’t matter who your mother thought you should marry.

• It doesn’t matter what people on the internet think of your posts.

It matters what YOU think of you. And it matters what I think of me.

Some things really are none of our business.

I look at my child and try to see the man. I have to squint to do it, because I remember all the little versions of him. But it’s none of my business to choose his path. It’s his business.

Byron Katie famously said: “There are three kinds of business: MY BUSINESS, YOUR BUSINESS and GOD’S BUSINESS.

I don’t know about you, but it’s something I need to remember. And now I’m off to make the cake!

Love Catherine xx

PS. The fun stuff!

• In The 10 Minute Fix, I talk about easy family celebrations. All it takes is a bit of bunting, napkins, glasses, balloons. The light up numerals are here, Aussies.

• I love Australia. ❤️ Every time I run to my own garden to snip flowers like these camellias, I feel like I live in the most beautiful country in the world.

• We can see a whale’s journey — how lucky are we? Technology is a beautiful thing.

• An old poem, but a favourite (from the early 1600s): remember this?