life through other people’s needs. I had celebrated my children’s achievements, supported Richard’s ambitions, and told myself that my own hopes could wait.
Hearing my son say he was proud of me reminded me that I was allowed to be proud of myself too.
I had raised eleven children.
I had managed a household through decades of change.
I had returned to education at fifty-five, learned new systems, earned qualifications, and rebuilt a professional identity.
I had faced the possibility of losing my marriage and still found the courage to
