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When I Say I’m Not A Mother
When the subject comes up as to why I don’t have kids at my age, as it sometimes does, my answer is simple, I don’t have kids that were born of my womb, that does not mean I don’t have kids I had in raising. And not having children I gave birth to was not a decision I took lightly, our family has genetic conditions that can be passed from generation to generation, which include Factor V Leiden, and Neuromuscular Conditions, in fact I lost a cousin to the condition and have a milder form myself. But I played a role in raising my older niece, and to this day she will still turn to me for help and advice, her relationship with her Mother is fractured to say the least, but I choose not to get into that, because thats her story to tell if she chooses not mine.
But I have had her in my care, days, weeks, even months on in, I changed diapers when she was little, helped with homework, took care of her when she was sick. I did my best to show her that with Faith and dreams she could soar. I’ve been on call to pick her up when she got sick at school. I taught her to cook the same Italian dishes my Nonna taught me. I took her to see Nonna, before she passed away, I bandaged scraped knees, and watch her ride a bike.
