Apparently I Had a Life Before I Was Mum!
My children have discovered that I existed before they were born. Apparently, this is breaking news.
It started when my daughter found a photograph of me at nineteen, laughing with friends on a Welsh promenade.
“Who’s that?”
“Me.”
“No, it isn’t!”
Charming. Thanks, mate.
My son joined the investigation.
“What did you do all day before you had us?”
Well, I went out, listened to music, slept whenever I fancied and had conversations that weren’t interrupted by somebody asking whether penguins have knees.
I could even leave the house without searching for three missing shoes. Yes, three. Don’t ask.
And somehow I still complained about having no time!
But their questions got me thinking. My children know Mum. The cook, taxi driver, finder of lost things and woman who occasionally shouts, “WHO’S LEFT THIS HERE?”
That’s something I love about naturism. Whether I’m relaxing naked at home or enjoying time with friends, I can simply be myself. Not just somebody’s mother.
Then my daughter asked, “Were you happy in that picture?”
“Yes.”
“Are you happy now?”
And suddenly my brain went quiet.
“Yes, sweetheart. Very.”
I wouldn’t swap my life now for anything. But I don’t want to forget the woman I was before motherhood either.
The photograph is staying on the shelf.
Although my son has since found another picture.
“Was that hairstyle fashionable?”
“Yes!”
He looked doubtful.
Frankly, so am I.
Ladies & Gents: what would your children be most shocked to discover about your life before becoming a parent?
