Now that I am living my own personal "Sex and the City" - I am finding I am experiencing a lot of city, and very little of the first word.

When one is single, I feel you tend to do a lot more soul searching and spending time in deep thought on relationships.

I am often locked in thought about past relationships and what mistakes were made by myself and how I could have or should have done things differently (the benefit of hind sight); and then some time dreaming about the possibility of a new one, or a future one, and romanticising about the possible knight in shining armour who you are sure, must be arriving imminently.

But as time ticks on, and my single days roll into weeks, and now months, I find that I am enjoying my single life more and more.  I love the freedom I have to go where I want to, when I want to; the freedom to accept the dinner dates I would like to attend, and decline the ones I don't really feel like; the freedom of not having to be home by a promised time (I am generally not good at this as I just love a party too much and tend to lose the ability to clock watch after my third glass of wine); the freedom to plan holidays with my daughter when it suits me, not having to wait for anyone else, and the freedom to make whatever decisions I want to - however, whenever.

Last evening I went out with a fabulous female friend, to a fabulous restaurant, in a fabulous neighbourhood.  There were couples there, families there, big groups, small groups, and other girlfriends meeting like we were.  At no time did I feel I was a lesser being for arriving at the trendy spot on my own, or indeed, leaving on my own.  I loved the intelligent, interesting discussions I had with my friend, and I loved the freedom I had to flirt outrageously with the waiter so that he ensured our wine glasses were always filled almost to the brim.

People keep asking me how I am feeling "now that I am single" and I keep my reply standard - "I am loving it so much, it is a little worrying how much I am enjoying it".  Never a truer statement was uttered from my lips.  I also keep being warned that at some stage, loneliness will settle in and I will pine and long for that knight in shining armour (or at my age, probably a grey haired knight with false teeth and a pot belly with possible yellowed toe nails) - but as yet, I have not even had one nano-second of this feeling of loneliness.  Elation, yes, freedom, yes, feeling in control of my life, absolutley yes.

And so the moral as I fast approach forty years of age:  I may be nearly forty, but I still feel fabulous, and my own personal "long walk to freedom" has been worth each and every step...