**Diary Entry 15th May**
*”Had a baby at nearly 50! What were you thinking?”* Thats all I heard from my family over the phone.
Im 46. A month ago, I gave birth to twinsa boy, Oliver, and a girl, Emily. Words cant describe what I feel when I look at them. Happiness, joy, tears, this warmth inside meits overwhelming, truly.
Yet, neither my mum nor my sister bothered to come for the hospital discharge. My husbands relatives ignored the birth too. All because of our age.
Honestly, I never thought much about children when I was younger. I was too busy enjoying lifeclubs, dancing, carefree nights. What more could a young girl want? Cocktails, admirers, staying out till dawn. My heart sang with happiness.
Then, at 22, I met Edward. Handsome, bearded, glasseshe had this way of making me laugh. Women flocked to him, but he chose *me*. I wont lieit gave my confidence a boost. He had a flat, a car, a family business. His parents owned several clothing shops in London and made good money.
I thought Id found my Prince Charming. Edward was my ticket to an easy, happy life. I dreamed of a lavish wedding, of honeymooning in the Maldives.
But to him, it was never serious. I lived in his flat for just a month before he changed the locks and packed my things while I was at the salon getting my nails done. All I got from him was: *”Were from different worlds. Youre not right for me.”* As if I were some mismatched shoe!
The breakup wrecked me. I lost two stone, wandered around like a ghost. My hair fell outI wore wigs and hats for months. My health suffered badly. The weight loss messed with my hormones. I had surgery, took medication, even tried herbal remedies. Nothing worked.
So I threw myself into my career. Id always loved doing nails, so I trained as a manicurist. Luckily, clients came in droves, and I earned well. I took out a mortgage on a small two-bed flat, saved up for a car, and by 33, Id opened my own beauty salon. I even hired a few young girls to help.
Then, two years ago, I met Daniel. He worked nearby, popped in one day to break a £20 noteand just like that, I fell in love. We moved in together quickly, married soon after, and of course, talked about children.
Nothing happenedour age was against us. So I tried IVF. I prayed every night, begging God for a child, promising Id be the best mother.
And He listened. I gave birth to two healthy babies, the delivery smooth as anything.
*”Are you mad? Having kids at your age? Did you even think?”* That was Mum on the phone.
*”Good Lord, Ill be a grandmother soon, and youre having babies? Sis, youre too old for this!”* That was my sister shouting.
Not a single relative supported us. Only Daniel and a photographer waited outside the hospital. We took a few keepsake photos and drove home.
The babies are a month old now. Neither Mum nor my sister will visit. They say Ive embarrassed them, that having children so late is a disgrace.
But is it wrong to want a family? Is that really such a sin?
