40ish - Empty Nest, Earl Grey and The Itty Bitty Saggy Titty Committee

Episode Date: March 31, 2026

This week on 40ish: Lauren is entering her Earl Grey Era. It’s a bit like a Taylor Swift Era but a lot more middle aged. Meanwhile Nicole takes time (far too much time)  to contemplate her favourite electrolyte flavour and a weekend of resting. We hear from a listener struggling with the emotional shift of parenting adult children. With one child at home and another living their dream in Australia, she’s proud but feeling the quiet loss of being needed and wondering how to rediscover herself in this new stage of life. Plus, listener meltdowns include searching for a phone using the torch on the phone you’re holding, and a very honest introduction to the “Itty Bitty Saggy Titty Committee” Expect real life, real laughs, and the strange beauty of midlife one cup of Earl Grey and electrolyte at a time. Get in touch! Email [e-mail] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/40ish.podcast  TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@40ish.podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oh, she says, I'm a member of the Itty Bitty Sagi Titty Committee. You can join that committee. Fuck off. That's the second time that I've told you to fuck off. No, no. No, I won't join the Itty Sagi Titty. You join it. I don't want to join it.

I don't mind my boobs. Lucky old you. And I'm Lauren Mishko. And I'm Lauren Mishkon. This is the podcast where we tackle 40-something joy. Glymy. the wonders of this special decade, Nicole. It's so special. So many fun, fun things happen once you're 40. Our own very special things and indeed your news, your stories, your dilemmas, which we love to share here from the mundane to the ridiculous.

and everything in between, we are here to figure out how to survive midlife. One round crisis and meltdown at a time. Just one at a time. What happens if you're having 12 at a time? You just tackle one thing at a time, Lauren. Remember the phrase? Yeah, one thing at a time, Lauren. Yeah, and always remember.

So what do you do? You then just have to prioritise the most urgent meltdown and just go with that. What's basically giving you the biggest nervous breakdown in that moment? Yeah. Just deal with that. Yeah. Then move on to the next one. You know?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Let's go with that today. Yeah. Okay. And don't forget, everybody, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad free listening across this show and self-care club.

You can watch the video every week on Spotify and YouTube or you and, well, actually, I'm struggling uploading to YouTube. Are you? Yeah. Oh, my God. Our eight viewers are going to be very upset. Sorry to the eight of you. Watch on YouTube.

Well, they're not. They'll be watching. This won't be. Oh, that's fine. You can just watch it on Spotify. Yeah, do that. By the way, Lauren has never watched it. Never.

Ever. I don't need to watch myself. No, I do. I know what I look like and I know what you look like and I've heard this show because I've recorded it myself. I know, but you listen to it. You want to see my video editing, don't you? Desperately.

I'll go straight home and watch some old shows later. In fact, I'll be our ninth YouTube subscriber if you like. I'll don't want my personal account I'll even leave comments Hey Nicole Like your t-shirt today Is it from Ganny There's no there's no it is

It is I was with you when we bought it It's not Ganny T-shirt Is it? I think it is No it's American vintage We bought it in Phoenix We bought it

I bought it I did buy it for you I was just with you Yeah you're with me Anyway Anyway if you've got something to share big or small, we want to hear it all, so please email us hello at 40-ish-400ish.com.com. Okay.

Please be in touch, be part of the conversation. And the last thing and the most important thing is we would be so grateful if you love 40-ish, please share this with your friends or just show a friend or just tell a friend or just talk about this show to a friend. The more ears we reach, the more we can keep bringing 40-ish to all the brilliant midlife women who need to hear it. Yes. Come on then, what's going on?

My most 40-ish moment of the week. Yes. I believe I am now in my Earl Grey era. Okay. Oh, yeah, what's that about? Don't. No. Because we went out a few weeks ago and you ordered a pot, a pot of Earl Grey.

And you were like, what the fuck's that about? Never, ever, ever. We've done a lot of tea, a lot of coffee, a lot of lunching, a lot of lots of things together. And you have never ordered a pot of Earl Grey. I mean, to be fair, it only came in a pot. I don't think it was like an option to have just a mug. It could taste like perfume. It is fragranced, yes, I agree.

You know what? I've got a box of it in my kitchen, which I've ignored for a long time. But obviously, I bought it for my own... They feel really bad about themselves. Those two bags. Obviously bought it for myself and I forgot about it. I walked in and I just turned to the other cheek every time I saw it. I go straight for the PG tips.

Fuck you, Earl Grey. I'm ghosting. you now. But you know, the other afternoon, when I reached for the PG tips, I just didn't want it. I was like, no, I want my little old friend, the Earl Grey. And now I feel like I'm in my Earl Grey era. And you know, I'm enjoying it. And you know what else? My mum likes an Earl Grey in the afternoon. You know, as time goes on, as the months and years roll, me and Jackie, do you think there's any... Just merging? Do you think there's any Gen Z? It is Gen Z, isn't it? Yeah. Gen Zs. Do you think there's any Gen Zs that drink Earl

Earl Grey. Or even know what it is. It's just a tea. It's just a version of tea. It's a black tea. Thank you. I'm explaining to the Gen Z's. They don't listen. Yes, they do. We've got a couple of 26-year-old tea. Well, they would have listened on YouTube, but I can't currently upload it on there. Maybe I'm going to bring Earl Grey back as a cool drink to the youngsters. What makes you think you're bringing it back? Just by saying it here. Oh. You know, there could be a couple of 20-year-olds who are like, hey, I've seen that in supermarket. I'm going to give it a try. You think this show gives you street cred? Yeah. Do you?

So much. Do you? I don't think it does. I don't think it gives either one of a street grid. I'm telling you now, there are four 13 year old boys who on a weekly basis, beg me, beg me on their knees if they can come on the podcast. They're taking the piss. They're not. They are.

I said, what are you going to talk about on the podcast? Not this one. They want to come on self-care club. I said, why do you want to be on self-care club? What do the nation need to hear? And they said, we want to share our experiences of being 13-year-old boys and what it feels like, us and what we do for ourselves. Tell us to get their own podcast.

What's your most fortage moment of the week? I spent this morning. I mean, it's like, it's like my brain has just switched off. Really? Yeah. I spent my morning, not my whole morning, but a section of my morning, trying to decipher which flavour of electrolyte is my favourite. Yeah.

What conclusion did you come to? It's between. Yeah. Oh, you didn't even decide. It's still a toss-up. No. Something berry and pomegranate. Right.

Himalayan lime. Okay. Sounds nice, isn't it? Yeah. It's not. And some like crushed lichy something. Can I ask you something as a non-electrolet drinker? Yeah.

You should drink electrolytes. You should. You should. Okay. No, you should. What for? What do you mean what for? Why?

To hydrate yourself, you lunatic, because you don't drink water. Oh, okay. It's for hydration. I don't like fruity things apart from actual fruit. No, no, it's not about liking it. It's about doing something that is good for you. I don't do things that I don't like to do anymore because I'm over 40. Can I just offer you a suggestion?

No. No, I can't. You'll like it. Are they like those fizzy tablets, like a barroca? No, it's a sashet. Oh, okay. Could you mix and match? Could you do half of one flavor and half.

of another and create your own blend like a smoothie. And so then you haven't got one taste. Well, you're going to have like berry and pomegranate with Himalayan lime. I wouldn't do a berry and a lime, but if there was one that was, you know. I don't have every single packet. They're like really expensive. They're like 30 quid a thing. Oh.

30 quid a sashet? No. For like a month's supply. They're not really expensive. Since when have supplements become so expensive, whatever supplement you want, right? And it's always at the 30 days. It's like 30, 35 quid. So if you are supposed to take all the supplements

that you're supposed to take, maybe I should save this from a meltdown. It doesn't matter, we're here now. We are. If you're supposed to take all the supplements that you're supposed to take, which are what? Electrolites, collagen, magnesium,

Aschwaganda, multivitamin. What other bollocks are you supposed to take? All these shit. Let's say you're supposed to take five different things. Vitamin D, vitamin C, calcium, zinc. I mean, one, 30. 25 times 5, you do the fucking math. 140, 175 quid a month on supplements. I don't think so.

And also, you know, you have to do it for four to six weeks to see any results. And each bottle is only 30 days. So you have to buy minimum two bottles to see if it even makes a difference. Yeah. Yeah. Annoying. That's going to cost you 350 quid. Who's got 350 quid?

Nobody. I think you should next time, get some ones that you can mixy match. Like some citrusy ones. Read back to electrolytes. Yeah. So you could do like if there was 11. one you can mix that with a line. No, no, no, I've made my decision. Which is? Lichy. Okay. It's great. It's really nice. Can you pretend it's a lighty martini? Yes.

Yes, I can. But when I drink it at seven in the morning, it doesn't quite feel appropriate. You could put on some sunglasses and heels to drink it and then pretend you wear it and a fake cigarette in my hand. And be like, it's like some sort of cocktail party that's lasted all night. And you're still up. Put it in a martini glass. I might do that. Put it in a morning. Put it in a martini. Put it in a martini glass. When I'm making breakfast for my 15-year-old. Yeah. Let her go to school telling everyone that you're an alcoholic.

Yeah. That would be fun. Not really. Not really. I'd put it in a cocktail glass. Why? It's a good visual. I can down it.

I don't care. You need to start taking electrolytes. I seem to still be alive. I've never taken them for 40 years. Why is it just got to be, I'm either alive or I'm not? That's just how it is. I want to go to the feedback. I've had a lot of feedback about the mystery for ailment.

I know. I know. People are like really invested. I'd like to say first of all, has it gone? It's completely disappeared. In fact, it left as quickly as it arrived. I don't know. I still don't know what it was. How many sides did you have it? You had it for like a few days? I had it for maybe, yeah, a few days to a week, under a week. But then just vanished

and has not returned. Anyway, people had a lot to say about this. Zanthi said, peripheral neuropathy Peripherial How do you say that word? No one cares. No one. Anyway, she used the end word.

Neuropathy in the feet is nerve damage causing numbness, tingling, burning or pain starting in the toes and moving up. It gets worse during perimenopause. Okay, thanks for that. Victoria says, Hello ladies, my deepest sympathy for Lauren.

See now this is, with her mystery foot ailment. Yes, yes. I know exactly how you feel. I recently had exactly the same kind of sensation on my scalp. Just a small burning patch that materialised overnight. There was absolutely nothing to see, but I was worried. It was the beginning of going bald.

For weeks, it wasn't getting better. So I went to the doctor. And I told him, my hair hurts. I think he was trying not to laugh, but it was very real for me. I mean, but also, the amount of effort is to get that cheap appointment. Yeah. And then you've got to go in there and say, by the way, my hair hurts. He was completely baffled. And of course, now it's all gone.

overnight by itself. Hopefully your mystery melody will disappear as quickly as it came on. Well, it did. Welcome to Midlife. This is just the beginning. Cheers, Victoria. Well, it did. So thank you. And Helen said, Hey, Lauren, I just saw your 40-ish podcast about the burning sensation at the top of your foot. I have experienced this on my big toe. No inflammation and intermittent.

I eventually went to see the chiropodist. Chiropodist? Choropidist. Choropidist? Choropidist. Because I felt stupid going to the doctor to say my big toe hurt, who said that it could be diabetes but like you I don't have diabetes he was stumped and could not give me any answers if you find out please let me know it's gone now helen yeah it's gone i said to helen i feel

like to throw the diabetes word around don't they do wow i said to helen i feel like it is just some one of those weird rando perimenopausal things that happened she was like well i'm over 70 so i'm not in perimenopause it's like okay helen is and she's a thing to our show yeah love that Yeah. I love that. Yeah. God, we do really hit all ages on here, don't we? We really reach the people. With.

Just before we dive into your dilemmas, a quick disclaimer, we are not doctors or healthcare professionals. If there is an issue you are seriously struggling with, please contact a qualified expert. Interrupting this podcast to say that if you are enjoying this episode and this show, please share it with a friend who you think will love it too. What's our dilemma today? Hi, ladies.

My dilemma is feeling the loss of being needed as a parent now I have adult children. Yes. Well, this is a big conversation. It is. Isn't it? My husband and I have two children, age 20 and 22. One still lives at home and the other is working in Australia following their dream. Lovely.

We are incredibly proud of both of them, happy, thriving and getting on with life. Lately, though, I've been feeling unexpectedly sad. I keep thinking back to when they were younger. and how they were always around, family days out, little routines, just being together all the time. I'm in my 40s and trying to figure out what's this next stage of life looks like and what stuff to do. My husband is quite content doing his own thing, but I'm feeling a bit lost. I have a great relationship with both my children. I just find myself missing the feeling of being needed and those simple family moments that came with having young children around.

Is this a normal part of parenting adult children? How do you find your identity again and feel that space without feeling like you're losing something? something special. Well, you are losing something special, but also I really feel this like deeply, because I have a 22-year-old and one who's about to turn 20. I also have one who's 13, so he's not at that stage. You are losing something special, but I think the thing that is, there's a lot to talk about here, but I think the thing that is so key

or that really stands out is that the fact that one of your kids is in Australia, following their dream says to me, you've done an amazing job of raising a kid who feels confident and independent to be on the other side of the world living their dream. Because look what you did. And that's very special.

Yeah. And I think she does feel that. You can kind of get that sense of warmth and pride. It's a testament to your mothering that you've raised a child who feels able to do that. But it also doesn't help her with where she, She is in her own life now. It doesn't.

They are separate things. They are separate things. But I think it's important when you feel like that to remember that, remember that. That we don't have children to keep them. We have them to raise them and let them go and be their own people in the world. That's the job. And if you do the job well, they can do that. And that's amazing, you know.

I don't think as many men struggle with that stage as women do because women are so much generally in the main, every single woman but in the main women are much more tied up in their in the parenting in the motherhood in the children in that plays such an enormous role in their identity for so many years 18 years 20 years and then all of a sudden that role has got well it's not all of a sudden though it does peter out i mean i've still got a 15 year old and nearly 18 year old but they don't i'm not with them at the weekends they don't want me to be with them at the weekends they shouldn't want me to be with them at the weekend. So that's already shifted in my life. So Adam and I have to find things to do together or we have to find things to do for ourselves

at the weekends or not. It's up to us. But I'm already noticing that that has happened. So it's not like they turned 20 and they needed you yesterday and they don't today. It is a gradual thing. Yeah. But I think for women that have invested so much into that family unit to suddenly not have that is is could be really jarring and I think it's really scary and I think it's particularly cruel that this time of life often comes around the same time as the paramedopause when you're feeling not yourself vulnerable and not yourself at a transition you're in a transition and also the the landscape is changing as you are changing and it feels a little bit like you're you're losing your grip on everything you knew everything that was solid and known to you is

now not. And it's scary. And I understand her having those moments of of the sadness because there is, you know, you do look back obviously with slightly more rose tinted glasses because sometimes they're driving you mad. But there is a simplicity to those days when you go to the park. They have an ice cream. You come home. It's a six o'clock bed and bath and story. There is a routine and a simplicity and a loveliness to that. And it's not for everybody. Not for everybody. But when that routine ends, I think a lot of people feel, a lot of women, feel rudderless. Whereas with the fathers, with the dads, their life has kind of continued on the same trajectory. So I think that, that gap, that loss doesn't feel as acute to them. Yes. Not that they don't miss them or

miss hanging out with them. I mean, Adam definitely is, I notice him much more looking at old videos of the girls or if something pops up. Yeah. And he does have a that real sense of loss. He has a nostalgia for that. Totally. Yeah. And he misses it so much. And every time he sees like a little girl who's like three years old, he's like, oh my God, look how cute she is and look at her little dress. And I can see it in here. Whereas I don't really relate to it that way. To me, it was, it was hard. And he was traveling a lot and I was on my own a lot. And I found that whole stage quite brutal actually. So I'm stepping into this new stage. this more independent phase and I am enjoying it and I am really enjoying watching my kids thrive

and come into themselves and getting to know them as young adults. I'm really loving that. I know that I am in the minority of that and there's so many of my friends that are absolutely experiencing this or about to experience this. I am definitely experiencing this and you know one of my kids lives in America now he's going to be there for another four years. one of my kids is home but he went to uni for three years as well so you've already done all that I have done it he's now back but he's certainly not going to live with me forever and nor would it be appropriate and I want him to live his life you know um and I think it is just it is just an adjustment and I think and I have had to think hard about the things that I want to do for me and how what do I want to do

to fill that time and it's what have you come up with well I will tell you for something on Thursday evening, I am going to my first Marjong lesson. Oh, you are doing that. I am. That's so great. We talked about this a few weeks ago. Well, I had to find someone to teach me to play. This is, it's a Chinese game that's played with tiles for anyone that

doesn't know. I have never played it, but I think it's quite complicated and you need to be taught and then you have lessons and then you can play. But I needed to find a teacher, and I found one. So I'm going to go and just see if I like it. You know what? If I don't like it, no problem. Find something else to do. I've started my

bone strengthening class once a week. I don't like that, but I do do that and it's good for me. So it's just finding the things that you feel might, A, take up the time that you would spend with the children and also be good for you and make you feel happy and fulfilled. And I don't think it sounds so easy, but it's not actually that easy. Look, I also want to say that I haven't had a kid who's gone to university and I've still got both my girls very much at home.

Yes, they need me a lot less. Well, they do and they don't. Physically, they need me a lot less. You know, they can make their own dinners and I don't have to rush back. And in that respect, they get their cells all over the place and my oldest one's driving. And so they're independent in that sense.

But so I haven't really experienced it yet. And I keep saying to you, because I'm not sure if my daughter's going to university next year or not. And I keep saying, oh, God, the thought of it. So I could say something. completely different when she's out the house. I haven't gone there yet. But I also feel like, and correct me if I'm wrong, I have always maintained very, I've always retained a strong career.

I've always had a lot of hobbies. I've always gone to, like, had a routine outside of my household because I needed it because I was parenting two neurodiverse kids. Like I needed to get out and I needed space and I needed the gym or I needed whatever it was I was doing at the time. And so that set me up better for my kids suddenly coming into young adult life, I think. Would you say that was fair? I think it probably has. Yeah. I would say it probably has. I mean, it's funny because I was having this conversation with a friend the other day who has adult children and she said that one of her children was getting their first home. Obviously that would be a permanent move. And she was so, so, so, so happy and so, so, so devastated in equal measures. And she completely understood

that they could, those things could go hand in hand because it was, what it represented for her was so painful, but she's so happy that her kid was doing that. It's interesting, you said because I had lunch with a friend of mine who exactly that and she said exactly the same thing but I will say that one of my best friends her daughter moved out last year and she says that she sees her daughter more now that she's moved out than she did before because she used to come and go yeah now when she comes home and she comes home for dinner they sit around they eat dinner they they are mindful about being together yeah because she comes to see her yeah rather than her just getting changed grabbing a quick bite and running out. So she said my relationship has hugely improved since she's not in the house anymore.

I know when Max would go back to uni, he would say, he'd come home then he'd say, I'm going home on Monday. And I'd always say to him, no, no, no, no, no. You're not going home. You're going back to uni. This is home. Yeah. Yeah. But I think the thing, I'm not at that stage yet where their home, even the one in America, home is our home. Yeah. They don't have a home that's outside of our home yet. So that will be the next. That's the next bit for me. I know, it's, look, I really, I really resonate with, with what she's saying. And I think it's okay to feel like that. And I think it's okay to sit in it.

And I think it's okay to grieve it for a bit and take your time to figure out what you might want to do next or with that space. Yeah, it is. I would be mindful of that, though. Like, don't sit in it for too long. No. Don't allow yourself to. get lost in that. If you can and just and again find the things that you want to do and start yeah start bringing into your space the things that you want. It's so hard to do that when you've been

so good dished to look after everybody else. It's really hard. It is really hard and it doesn't sound hard but it is. It is. Yeah. It is. Yeah. So we're sending love to you. Yeah. Thank you so much for writing in with that with that beautiful and also mildly heartbreaking dilemma. Now listen, I really have got an actual meltdown. Okay. No, this was really bad. I know, I know. You know it.

I've already heard you. I've already heard it. But the listeners haven't heard it. It was really bad. I was on my phone looking for an email the other night. I had checked my emails a couple of hours before, but when I checked them again, this is like 10 o'clock at night. I'm on the sofa with Josh.

I see that I've got 450 emails in my junk folder. I thought, oh, it's a bit weird. Go into them. Every email is you've signed up for this website. Click here to very. verify. I thought something's very, very, very wrong. And because I'm so anal and weird like that, I checked through all 450 emails because I was genuinely looking for something, which I did find. And I found this weird, Accardo email with an order. Go into the order. Hundreds of pounds

worth of cigarettes have been ordered to a random account in Huddersfield. Basically, I had been hacked. And it is such a horrible feeling. Yeah. Anyway, I had to call Akado. This isn't even the rant. The hack is part one. I had to call Ocardo. Someone had hacked in. They'd changed my password. They'd done all these deliveries. It was a whole thing.

They knew about it. They shut my card down. They cancelled the things. Fuckers. You know why they're so sly. They get a bot to spam your email so that you don't notice the Akado order. Your car doesn't going to flag it because you order from Ocado every week. And you are none the wiser.

Because I am little Miss anal. I did spot it. Thank God. Yeah. And they got rid of it. Anyway, the worst bit of all of this was, I cancelled my card. And she said,

you must go in and change your email password and all of that. And she said, and now, just to be extra safe, I have to cancel your Akado account completely. I said, oh no, I'm going to lose all my favourites.

I've spent like 20 years building them up. Yeah, but they're all the same, aren't they? The favourites are the same. Yeah, but it was gone. No, I know, I know. I'm not saying it's not annoying, but your favourites,

it's not like 20 years worth of favourites because the favourites are the favourites. There's like 40 things. Yeah, 75 things I think it is in mine. Is it 75? Is that many? Yeah. So I cancelled the account, went to Ben at midnight,

and then realised I had a shop coming for the next day that was no longer coming and I had no account. So I had to sit in Ben at midnight, setting up a new account, and then doing this mind map around my kitchen, like in my mind opening every cupboard and drawer to think about what was in there and what I needed and having to do it from scratch.

You know what? It was fucking annoying. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I didn't need that. No. It was not nice.

No. No. But they didn't get their cigarettes and their whiskey because we foiled their plan. You should have got it redirected. I've got no food, no favours to send me fags and booed. After all this stress, I deserve it. Anyway, I have to say, not that we're sponsored by Akado, I wish that we were, they were so helpful and kind.

And this lady on the phone at quarter to 11 at night, in Yorkshire. She was so helpful. And I was like, I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you have like talked me through this, tell me, told me what to do, told me that it's happened to other people today. It was so helpful. Ah, Akado are really helpful. Even all their drivers are lovely.

Like anyone you deal with at Akado is always helpful. Lovely. Yeah. I mean, it's a very different story. They obviously have different training to Zara. Don't they? Yeah. Because the Zara staff are just assholes.

Imagine if someone had ordered 80 pairs of jeans to a lot. an account in Huddersfield, you had to do a Zara. They'd be like, so my problem? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

And if you keep asking me, I'm going to chuck you out. Yeah. I've been told, I've been almost chucked out of Zara before. I'd love to see that. Why? Because I tried to try something on. Oh yeah, but not in the changing room. No, because the changing rooms were closed.

Yeah. On a Saturday in Oxford Street at midday. They're so shit. Okay. Why do we still give them our business? Because they make really nice clothes. I know they're really annoying. Well, my meltdown is that last night, Adam was like,

what is with all the huffing and the puffing? All you have done all weekend is huff and puff. And I said, you're not really a huffer and a puffer. No. He's like, it's all over every five minutes. He goes, do you know what I think? I said what? He said, I really think you need to get back to the gym.

But you can't. I said to him, you know what, I do need to get back. He is so right. My body is so used to running at a certain speed, not that I can run at that speed now, run at a certain speed and endorphins and all of it. And I just, I just can't do any of that. No. But him telling me that I'm huffing and puffing and I need to get out to gym and he is right,

I do, just even to get back into my routine. Yeah. And I just can't. No. I went out on Saturday night. and it was lovely and we had a lovely, lovely, lovely dinner but I was so tired.

I was so tired. I just couldn't wait to get to bed. You didn't have your pre-dinner nap? I had driven my daughter to an audition and I had been in the car all morning for three hours and I came back and I slept for over two hours. I was in bed all afternoon and then I went out in the evening and I stilled.

I just felt finished. And then the next day, I rested all day. All day. I didn't have a shower until 5pm, Lauren. I wouldn't have even bothered at that point. Oh no, I felt absolutely disgusting.

I felt absolutely disgusting. I had to clean myself. Okay. All weekend. Yeah. It's just called resting. And recovering post-major surgery, yeah? It is so boring.

It is boring, but it's got to be done. It is at the point where you feel okay, but you're not really okay. You know, I'm like, I'm okay. Yeah. And I'm suddenly... But that's the danger point because you're like, I'm great.

I'm going to go and do X, Y, Z. And then you're wiped. You're like, oh, yeah, I just had a massive operation. I can't do X, Y, Z. When I got back from dropping my daughter, we went to walk the dog. And I literally got down to my local high street, which is probably a seven minute walk.

And I said to Adam, I can't. He's like, let's just walk around the park once. And then we'll go home. Come on. I said, I can't. I have got to, I'm going to throw up. I feel so tired. And I had to walk home.

Yeah. Which is not like me. No, it is not like you. Anyway, that's my meltdown. I'm fed up. Yeah. Hi, ladies. I'll keep it short and sweet.

Yesterday I panicked because I couldn't find my phone. I searched the whole house 15 minutes with the torch on only to realize the torch was on my actual phone that I was holding. Midlife is going well, Alicia. Yeah. Well, I have done that so many times. So many times. Have you not done that so many times? I haven't done that.

But what I have done... You've never been looking for your phone with your torch. No. But what I have done is been on the phone saying to the person, I can't leave because I can't find my phone without realizing that I'm... Speaking on my phone. I've done that. I haven't done the torch thing.

And another one is, Hi, my meltdown is my sad boobs. Breastfed, two kids, no regrets. But my previously small but perky boobs are now sad, shriveled sacks. Oh dear. I can't quite be bothered to have a boob job, but I don't like them.

I mean, I'm with you. Thank you, Dee, she says. I mean, I feel exactly the same way. I'm definitely not having a boob job, but I don't like my boobs. You like your boobs? Yeah, I like my boobs. Do you?

Yeah. Oh, she says, I'm a member of the Itty Bitty Saggy Titty Committee. You could join that committee. Fuck off. That's the second time I've told you the fuck off. No. No.

I won't join the Itty Saggy Titty Committee. You join it. I don't want to join it. I don't mind my boobs. Okay. Lucky old you. I'm actually very happy with them. They've done their, they've provided their service to all three people.

They belong to me and I do not want to have any surgery on them because they're healthy. You know what? I have two healthy boots. Yeah, that's how I feel. They're healthy and I don't want to have surgery. I don't need. Oh, no.

And they're mine. They are mine. And they're healthy. Leave them alone. Everyone go away. Leave them alone. Yeah, you know what, Dee. They're yours and they're healthy.

They're not sad. Yeah. They've performed their service and just enjoy them and embrace them. Yeah. Even if they are itty, bitty and saggy. Puppies in socks. Okay. That's our show.

That's it. We will be back on Thursday with another episode of 40ish. Please keep your emails coming in. Hello at 40ish.com.com. Or you can DM us at Instagram at 40ish. Dot podcast. Is it dot podcast? underscore podcast.

Dot podcast. Dot podcast. Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Brilliant. That's brilliant. It's hello.

No, it's not hello at. What is it? No, that's our email. Oh, our email. I thought you were doing our email address. I've just done that. Oh, okay. You're so.

busy trying to park your car and repark your car that she's not even doing her job. I am trying to repart my car. She is not doing her job. You don't want me to get a ticket, do you? No. No. No, but I would like you to be present with me. I feel like I'm talking to my husband now. Do you? You're not talking to me. I mean, I was in mid-conversation with Adam yesterday. Mid-conversation. He just walked out. Right. And I actually thought he'd gone to get something and was coming back. And after about seven minutes, right? Seven minutes. I called, I like, called up like, hello. he's like, yeah. I'm like, where are you?

Because I'm upstairs. I was in mid-conversation. He goes, no, we'd finished. No, no, you'd finished. I was still speaking. I was still speaking. That's like the equivalent of when we're all having dinner, but Josh finishes his plate,

so then he gets up and takes it over to the dishwasher and leaves the room. It's like, no, no, no, no, no. It's still dinner. Just because you've put the last thoughtful in your mouth. No, that's not how this works. It's called dinner. We all eat dinner.

I was talking. about flights. Right. And he said, well, just check on Expedia and then left the left. Because he resolved the conversation. But I didn't, that wasn't what I wanted it. Right. That wasn't an option. I didn't, I'd already done that. Right. But he was so busy leaving the room that he hadn't heard me. Anyway, it took me about another 10 minutes to come back down. He goes, well, I told you. I told you to like call Expedia. Look at Expedia. I'm like, I have already, like, if you just stay in the fucking room for five seconds. He'd moved on. He'd moved on. There was probably a poo or a snack. what I mean? He's moved on in his mind. I've spoken to her now, I've moved on. No, I've

given her my opinion. Now I've let that. That's it. That's what he said. But I told you what I thought. I said, I know, but I still had things to talk about. Hello. If only we were all lesbos. Hello. Hello at 40-ish dot podcast. I think that's no. Yes. No, that is not our email. What is it? You've just given a mix of our email and our Instagram. What is our email? at 40ish. Dot co.uk. Yeah. Yeah.

Yes. And the email and the DM is at 40ish dot podcast. See, we do know it. We do know it. I feel like I have to check that. But yeah. Okay. Be in touch.

Bye.