THE END OF AN ERA

As the tweet above says, my daughter turns 18 today. Which means that all three of my children are now adults. And so my parental responsibilities are - legally - now over. It is the end of an era that has lasted just over 22 years.

Of course, whatever the legal position, the reality is rather different. Relationships don't often change abruptly from one day to the next, they tend to move gradually over time. In some areas, my children have been deciding for themselves for some years (who they want as their partner, for instance); in others, the situation is less clear cut (think money). And even if the relationship does change, it doesn't mean that the parent/child bit of it will. People often say that parents never stop treating their children as children. I know that my mother still does, and she is a sprightly 86; I suspect that I will be the same.

Nevertheless, all societies have their milestones, points on the road where things are deemed to have changed. Today is one of them, for me.

Walter Blotscher