Growing up it was just me and my mum - I had no contact with my dad. Mum and I are very close although we joke that our relationship is similar to that of Edina and Saffie from Ab Fab - I am by far the more sensible one whilst mum is a dreamer! It is fair to say my mum was a bit of a wild child; she left home at 16 and fell pregnant with me when she was 22. She is incredibly sociable and still is at 56! There were many occasions when I wished for 'normality'; a dad, a sibling, a mum who didn't have to be nagged to go to parents evening, a mum who got cross when I got detention...I'm sure you get the picture! All my friends adored my mum - she was the one they went to for a glass of wine and a cigarette to share all their troubles, they thought she was really cool! Meanwhile I was quietly impressing all their parents and being the daughter they wished they had!
I was the only child in my family and was always really envious of friends who had loads of cousins - instant playmates! And then my Auntie decided at the grand age of 40 to divorce her husband of 17 years, begin a relationship with a guy she worked with, fall pregnant, not care that said guy did not want anything to do with her or baby and go on to have Megan who made her grand arrival 2 weeks before my 21st birthday and made me so proud to finally have a cousin!
My grandparents (Oma and Opa as I called them) lived 200+ miles away but I was very close to them and they were a big part of my life growing up - my grandad (opa) especially so. They provided me with the security and normality that I craved and I used to spend every summer holiday with them at their house in Plymouth. I have the fondest memories of those times.
This picture is really special to me, it was taken in my Oma's bedroom last October a couple of days before she moved out of her house. My Opa sadly passed away in this room 9 years ago and I wanted us all to be close to him and have a photo of his 'girls' (as he used to call us). Here are the 4 generations; me, oma, mum, auntie, Megs and Lauren.
None of us live in the same city, our get together's are usually arranged weeks in advance and I am so envious of friends who have their families on their doorstep - do you realise how lucky you are?!
My lovely friend Linda (who has no family close by) told me she had created an 'urban' family made up of friends, each playing the part of one of the members of her family. I loved hearing about this and have started to create my own urban family - 1st things 1st, the sister I never had - Linda!
Growing up I couldn't wait to get married and have my own family. No surprise then that I was engaged at 25, married at 26 and a mum by the time I was 27! Now I have my own family, it's not always easy but god I love them so much! Just don't get me started on the in-laws..... ;-)
