Hes already 35 and has neither children nor a wife.
Just a week ago, I was visiting my mother-in-laws house with my son. While we were there, one of her lifelong friends happened to be visiting too. She spent the whole afternoon fussing over my boy.
Its such a pity I dont have any grandchildren, she sighed, her voice laced with regret.
This friend had become a mother later in life, well into her thirties. Her son arrived after many years of hoping and waitingshe cherished him above all else and rarely denied him anything. Her husband passed away when their boy was still in nappies, so she raised him single-handedly, working two jobs just to keep the house afloat.
When her son reached his thirty-fifth year, she finally plucked up the courage to ask, rather tentatively, if there was any chance she might become a grandmother soon.
He answered calmly, almost coldly: Never.
He went on to say it was his upbringing that had left him like this, that shed, as he put it, coddled him far too muchkept him too soft.
Im used to an easy life. No English girl is going to want to play mummy to me, he said dryly.
He added, matter-of-factly, that this life suited him perfectly, and he saw no need to change himself for anyone.
I dont need anyone but you, Mum, he finished quietly.
Breaking apart, the woman confessed, wringing her hands, I suppose I failed to teach him the one thing he really neededto be a man!
What do you think? Can a mothers love not only shield a child, but also keep them from standing on their own two feet?
Id love to hear your thoughtsdo share them with me.
