Lynette Fay: My biggest life change to date is putting everything into perspective

A CHANGE is as good as a rest, a change will do you good – there are many clichés connected to change.

How many life-changing moments do we get in life? Moments which, when we look back with the enlightenment of hindsight, we realise have changed things forever.

I don’t think that these moments have a specific definition. The first life-changing moment in my life came when I passed my driving test. I was in my late 20s when this happened. Up until that point, not having a driving licence or a car had not stopped me from travelling or getting around, but it did make life more difficult. Learning to drive gave me independence and freedom that I had never experienced before and was the best thing to happen to me up to that point.

This was the one of the most simple of the life changes. They get more complicated after that – for better and for worse.

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The worst life-changing experience I have had to date is losing someone I have loved. The bereavement of a family member or of loved ones who are close to us, sometimes within the blink of an eye, can present the ultimate life change and puts other trials and tribulations of life into perspective. Diagnosis of sickness presents the same challenge.

Unless we initiate the changes ourselves, change can be completely out of our control, and the only thing that we can do is work out how best to deal with change and to make peace with it.

My life has been all change, during the last 18 months, and very unpredictably so.

Moving house was a huge change, of my own initiation, but I had completely underestimated the enormity of the renovation work involved. This change was overwhelming, demanded a lot of time and attention, needed to be managed, but we got there. The hard work involved was worthwhile.

My working life changes immeasurably this week. I have worked on weekend radio for 15 years. I started off with a Sunday show, then a Friday show, then a Saturday show. Many listeners commented that I was the bookend to their weekend. I love what I do, and when I’m in the studio, I get lost in the music, and the contact with the audience, who seem to have been appreciative of my taste in music.

I understand that I was very lucky to have a job, and yet sometimes I couldn’t help thinking that I was missing out on ‘normal life’. I have missed out on many family events, spending time with friends who only have weekends free.

That all ends this weekend. Tonight and tomorrow, I present weekend shows for the last time – for now. I have been given the opportunity to present a daily radio programme. The all new Lynette Fay Show starts on Monday at 3pm on BBC Radio Ulster, and Folk Club will now open its doors on Friday nights 10.30- midnight.

I am really excited about the prospect of engaging with the radio audience each day. This will be life changing in so many ways for me, but the audience also have to adapt to the change. Some will be happy to hear something different, some will not. I will work on growing a thick skin between now and Monday afternoon.

Back to that perspective I mentioned.

While I have been renovating, moving house, working on new programmes, I have also been working on my biggest life-changing role to date, and one which puts everything into perspective.

In a matter of weeks, I will become a mother. My baby bump is growing, it is becoming increasingly difficult to move around, and I can’t remember the last night that I got more than six hours sleep. And don’t get me started on pregnancy brain...

I can honestly say that I couldn’t be happier and I am extremely grateful. I thought that being a mother was not going to be part of my life, and I had made peace with that.

Pregnancy is an eye opener in so many ways. It’s a lot to get your head around. I feel at this point that I could write a book about the experience, the attitudes of others and the ‘advice’ I have been given along the way. I’ll save that for later.

In the meantime, I’m embracing the changes that are ringing in all around me, and I’ll be back to share my experiences in the spring.