Had a baby when youre nearly fifty! What were you thinking? my relatives scolded over the phone.
Im forty-six. A month ago, I gave birth to twinsa boy named Alfie and a girl called Poppy. Words cant describe what I feel when I look at them. Happiness, joy, tears, warmth insideits overwhelming, honestly.
Yet, neither my mother nor my sister came to see us after the birth. My husbands family ignored the arrival of our children too. All because of our age.
I never thought about having kids when I was young. I was carefree, living for nights out, dancing in clubs. What else does a girl need? Fancy cocktails, admirers, laughter till dawn. My heart sang with joy.
But at twenty-two, I met Oliver. Handsome, bearded, glasseshis jokes made me weak. Girls flocked to him, yet he chose me. I wont lie, it gave me a boost. Oliver had a flat, a car, a family business. His parents owned clothing shops in town, making good money.
I thought Id found my prince. Oliver was my ticket to an easy life. I dreamed of wedding dresses, honeymoons in Spain.
But for him, it was nothing serious. I stayed at his place for a monththen he changed the locks while I was at the salon getting my nails done. My things were dumped outside. All he said was, Were from different worlds. You dont fit. Like I was a shoe that didnt match!
The breakup wrecked me. I lost two stone, wandered like a ghost. My hair fell outI wore wigs or hats. My health suffered. The weight loss ruined my body. I had surgery, took pills, even tried herbal remedies. Nothing worked.
So I threw myself into work. I loved painting nails, so I trained as a manicurist. Business boomed, and soon I had enough for a two-bed flat. Later, a car. At thirty-three, I opened my own salon. Young girls worked for me.
Then, two years ago, I met Daniel. He worked nearby, popped in once to break a twenty-pound note. And just like that, I fell in love. We moved in fast, married, tried for kids. But nothing happenedour age, they said.
So I tried IVF. I prayed every night, begging God for a child, promising to be the best mum.
And He listened. I had two healthy babies, an easy birth.
Have you lost your mind? Kids at your age? Did you think at all? my mother hissed over the phone.
Good Lord, Ill be a gran soon, and youre having babies? Sis, youre too old for this! my sister shrieked.
No one supported us. Only Daniel and a photographer waited outside the hospital. We took a few pictures, then drove home.
The babies are a month old now. My mother and sister refuse to visit. Say Ive shamed them before the whole town. Because I dared to have children late.
But is it wrong to want a family? Is that really such a sin?
