No longer the mother of two teenagers

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Today dawned with Florence's 20th birthday and the realisation that I can no longer say that I have two teenage children. It makes little difference, except that I could (perhaps) pretend to be a little younger than I am.

A friend regularly says "Age is just a number", but refuses to share hers. My attitude is that it IS just a number, and therefore I have no shame in admitting that I'm 50. Having a daughter - even a gorgeous one - who is 20 just endorses that age. It's also a significant day because one of my best years ever was when I was 19. But then my 20s just kept getting better and I know that Florence has so much ahead of her. And most of it will be outside my sphere of influence and probably without my knowledge.

So, Happy Birthday Florence. Enjoy your day and night in Cambridge with your girlfriends. A good choice of spending your special day. And thanks for letting me buy you Kir Royale to start it off.

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