18

I did it! I managed to keep both my children alive and well until they reached adulthood. I feel a great rush of relief and a sense of achievement. I'm so glad they didn't die of food poisoning, or eating a poisonous plant, or run onto a road while I wasn't looking and get hit by a car. Or drown or get electrocuted, or die of malnutrition or any of the other multitude of terrible things that I might not have been astute enough to keep them safe from. I remember reaching roughly the half way mark (age 10 and 8) and thinking that if I can just do the same for the next 10 years then we might nearly make it.

And we did.

My baby has just turned 18.

I'm so proud of her.