I am the eldest of 3 girls (poor Dad!)

I am the only one still to reside in a Birmingham postcode (although we actually live in Worcestershire, which sounds a bit posher?!?) Youngest sister is a 2 hour drive away, and middle sister is a 2 hour plane journey away.

There’s 22 months between me and middle sis and then 4 further years to the baby!  (Although once, when she had 2 children and I had none, we were asked if we were twins – I found this highly amusing – ‘my twin’ was not so impressed!!)

We probably only all get together about once a year – and then there are husbands / children / parents in tow. We might have managed the odd night in the pub, or sing song around a piano, as just the 3 of us – but we’ve never done anything more.

As kids we were lucky to do lots of family holidays to France / Scotland / anywhere in between – but then we were always accompanied by our parents.  As adults we’ve done return visits to both of the above – but with parents and husbands and kids too.

I remember each sister coming to visit when I was at Uni – but not both at the same time.  (We won’t mention that I took little sister clubbing and to see Pulp Fiction when she was only 14 – given her daughter is older than that now!!)

Youngest sister hit 18 and spent a year in the US, and when she got back I was in Australia, and middle sister was living in Germany.  Then littlest sister got pregnant with her first child (now a gorgeous 15 year old). Between us, we had 7 kids in 7 years – so going away as a threesome has just never happened.

Over the festive period the middle sister hit the big 4 – 0, and celebrated on a warm (but windy!) beach in Egypt with her husband and kids.  But we are prolonging the celebrations (hey, I celebrated for a whole year when I was 40!) by going away next weekend – just the 3 of us – to a spa hotel in the German mountains.

We are all ridiculously excited – it will be so bizarre just being sisters for the weekend not mums / wives / daughters.

Happy 40th Birthday lovely middle sister!!