Why can't girls have a decent mid-life crisis?

First, let me just make it clear that there is nothing trivial about a genuine mid-life crisis. Reaching that certain age can be devastating for some people, and they deserve all the support they can get.

But most of us, when we reach the point when the kids are flying the coop and life is financially secure, suddenly find that our horizon spreads out. We are no longer constricted by the details of day to day life and can take new chances. And this is an opportunity that I can't pass up. I may have been lucky and had a career and family; but I compromised on the career in support of family and personal dreams took a definite last place.

So now I deserve to treat myself. I am loosing weight, which will no doubt be the subject of a post another time, improving my self-image and getting in touch with long buried desires and feelings. And one of these is the love of cars and bikes. When I was very young I expressed the opinion that I wanted to be a mechanic. And once my parents had finished laughing, they explained that I meant an engineer, because they design the vehicles. Only, I didn't.

And being very enlightened, well-meaning, middle-class parents, they encouraged me all the way through school and university to become the best I could be. But somehow, that never included practical subjects. My dad never serviced his own car so I couldn't learn by example. My mum always called out a service engineer, rather than trying to work out the problem with the dish-washer or the hoover. When necessary, I even had to change the fuse for her.

So now I'm 40 something and rediscovering my love of vehicles. I've done the family car bit and now I want to indulge my need for speed. I'm finally becoming the petrolhead my subconscious wanted to be for years; and it's fun. I have it all planned out, this year I intend to take an advanced driving course. Once I'm happy with my driving, I'll join a car club and try out a selection of sports cars. Then for my 45^th, I'll get myself something beautiful. Something I can take out on track days.

Oh, and somewhere in there I intend to take my CBT and DAS, so I can ride a bike.

But here's the rub: I'm a girl. My mid-life crisis is supposed to be about wanting one more child before I'm too old. I should be planning on buying a country house not a Porsche 911. Apparently, I need a face-lift more than a Ducati. Even my daughter exclaimed that this is not a normal mid-life crisis.

I think I'll have a mid-life crisis to cope with my mid-life crisis!