What a difference a year makes – what a difference a few weeks makes – what a difference a day makes…

This time last year I was single, about to embark on my first cycle of egg freezing, and was generally an emotional wreck.

This time a few weeks ago I was single, and bitching about my generally poor dating prospects.

Today, I’m still single, but I’ve got 14 frozen eggs in a freezer somewhere, and feel pretty positive about my life.

(And it’s not just because in the last few weeks I’ve been on two dates with two different – interesting – guys, and have a few more in the pipeline. I keep remembering what a friend of mine said to me years ago when I was bemoaning my single status. She told me that being single was like having a job – you either do, or you don’t – it’s binary. And just because you don’t one week, doesn’t mean you won’t the next. And it can be hard to keep that in mind when weeks and weeks of no dates/crap dates go by. But it only takes one date – one good date – to lead to a second, and a third… Anyway…)

2014 was epic in way I don’t think I’ll ever forget – not least because it’s written in black and white on this blog. I’d like to say something really profound about it, but I think it boils down to:

— sometimes shit happens
— often there’s something you can do to make it a bit less shit (and you should probably do it – as long as it’s practical and not illegal or self-destructive)
— you’re probably capable of more than you think you are
— you should probably listen to your friends because they’re in a better position to judge what you’re capable of

I’m not saying that 14 frozen eggs are the only reason I’m feeling better about my life today than I was this time a year ago, but – and excuse me for sounding like a twattish X-Factor style contestant – everything that I went through to get to that point, everything it taught me about me, my friends, and life in general – in brief, my – bleeeeeurgh – JOURNEY – means that although, on paper, the difference between 1st January 2014 and 1st January 2015 is just a baker’s dozen – plus one for luck – of vitrified ova, it’s an entire mindset of difference.

So thanks to all the people who, in their various different ways helped me get from there to here – not least J, who gave me the title of this post when she texted me last night. I hope 2015 brings us all 14 frozen eggs closer to where we want to be.

(Hey, do you think this could become a thing? Could “I wish you 14 frozen eggs” be the new “May the road rise to meet you”? Just a thought….)