There was a special group of women who were there for Katie Panton when the big 40 arrived on her doorstep this year.
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They were her friends from Peel High. And they have been a constant in the married mother of two's life throughout the years as she burrowed further into her hometown - a place she never wants to leave.
Panton and her friends regularly meet up for lunch, where they talk about kids, work and life in general.
Panton, who works in the office at Essential Energy in Tamworth, likes the fact that her mates have evolved but, intrinsically, are still the same people she grew up with.
![Katie Panton will head to the oztag nationals in Coffs Harbour next week. Picture by Mark Bode Katie Panton will head to the oztag nationals in Coffs Harbour next week. Picture by Mark Bode](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/56039eda-c822-4c51-a29a-04e5c25f944a.jpg/r7_0_2933_1646_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Having them in her life was special, she said, "because they're the people that know you the longest, know you the best, I suppose."
One of the things they would know about Panton is the unfailing positivity that fortifies her like the girders of a bridge.
"I can't remember being unhappy," she said, adding: "I just always don't have a reason not to be happy, I suppose."
Panton will be plenty happy next week when she travels to Coffs Harbour for the oztag nationals. She is in the Northern Rangers over-37 women's side.
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And when the event has concluded, she will be more than happy to return home. She said she did not "need to be anywhere else", as family was "everything".
"There's enough here for me," she said of Tamworth, when asked if she was ever tempted to live elsewhere.
"There's enough opportunities," she added. "It still has a small-town feel, but it's big enough for lots of opportunities for my kids."
Panton was aghast at the thought of turning 40. But having reached the dreaded milestone, she does not know what all the fuss was about.
"I didn't want it to happen," she said of her 40th. "But it happened, and I actually don't feel any different than I did when I was 39. So it's no different."
A bit like Panton and her friends.
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