I recently celebrated the engagement of a dear friend with *very* low key stagette. My friend M is 45 & this is her 2nd marriage, so mercifully, there wasn’t a Buck a Suck T-shirt or penis straw in sight.

Over a few glasses of celebratory vino, we started to talk about second chances, and how much our lives had changed over the course of our friendship.  M & I have lived parallel lives for more than 15 years: we got engaged the same year, were married one week after the other & were pregnant with our first children at the same time. We also got divorced within a year of one another. We are so much in synch that I think we may also share a menstrual cycle. She was my Divorce Doula during my separation & I will be forever in her debt for the practical guidance, unconditional love and emotional support she gave me.  She now has an amicable and respectful relationship with her ex and they are devoted to successfully co-parenting their lovely kids. She is madly in love with her new partner & although their journey has not been without its challenges, they have beautifully merged their families & lives. They both deserve such happiness.

I recently celebrated my birthday in Cabo with my new partner & my boys. Before we went, I had a conversation with my ex about my new relationship, and our plans to travel together with the boys.  He told me that he was very happy for me, and that he appreciated my openness.  Incredibly mature & kind of him. I’m a lucky ex-wife (cf: “The world’s best ex-husband”)

Travelling together went so smoothly, felt very natural, and everyone had a wonderful time. You know it’s a good trip when you ask the kids to name their Top 3 favourite things about their vacation, and they respond “We can’t choose just 3! Can we have a Top 14?” On my birthday, JDP & I enjoyed a glass of wine at sunset on our patio overlooking the surf and he presented me with a Pyrrha necklace. One of my favourite designers, Vancouver-based Pyrrha has a line of talisman necklaces & lockets based on 18th century heraldry that symbolize a variety of life’s events & passages. He chose the Martlet with Heart. The Martlet is a bearer of good news (well, I AM a publicist; all my news is good!) and when atop a heart, it represents happiness that is born out of love.

I’m so happy that this little bird has flown into my life, and has brought with it the best news: that there are indeed second chances in life. And in love.