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Childhood by Harriet from A Rush of Love


Thank you to the lovely Harriet for a personal insight into her childhood and her wishes for her own daughter. 

"When I think back to my childhood it brings back fantastic memories and leaves me with a huge smile on my face. My childhood wasn't conventional by any means and it would be easy to assume that I didn't have a happy time, but far from it.


My parents divorced when I was 6 years old. To be honest I don't remember them being together, my earliest memories are ones where they are already separated. At 7 years old, my mum made the somewhat crazy decision to move to France, me, step-dad & brother in tow, with not one out of the four of us able to string a sentence together in French. All I could say in French was "hello" "cat" & "dog", not the makings of a great conversation.


We went to a French school, talk about jumping in at the deep end, but I can honestly say never did I ever wish that we were still in the UK. I loved it. All of the French children wanted to be my friend as I was some sort of English alien. We spent 9 years in France, I ended up doing my French Brevet (equivalent to GCSE's) and passed. I was completely fluent, French people who didn't know me wouldn't have known I was English. The years spent in France were some of the happiest of my life and although I didn't have a conventional family life, it was solid and it built the morals and values that I have today.


That's what I want for Ava, a happy family life, I think everyone wants that for their child. I was lucky enough to gain from my parents divorce. I got two extra parents, a half-brother, a step-brother and a step-sister. I got to experience a different culture and all of those experiences made me who I am today.


In my experience your childhood builds you into the future adult you will be, whether your parents are divorced or not. I want Ava to have a happy childhood but most of all I want her to grow up with a good head on her shoulders. I want her to be aware of the world around her and have good morals and I hope that I can teach her that.

I was so lucky to have such a happy and exciting childhood."

Harriet blogs over at http://www.arushoflove.co.uk



7 comments

  1. Ah you look like you had a lovely childhood

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  2. my childhood sounds so boring compared to yours!

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  3. Sounds like a great adventure, I grew up in South Africa, so know all about exciting childhoods. Hope I can share the experience with my son one day

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  4. Aw that sounds lovely. Its nice to see that you took the goodness (gaining parents and siblings) from a sad time (I'm guessing!) x

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  5. I think the knocks we take as children really help us to grow up as well rounded adults.

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  6. i love holidaying in france its like UK 20 years before modern life corrupted us

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  7. The pictures look so happy and full of fun! Thats how it should be! My parents divorced, and while it wasn't a happy time, it made me stronger and gave me the strong family values and beliefs I have today. My motto is, sink or swim, you look like you are a very strong swimmer! ;-) Lovely insight into your life.May you always be this happy! ;-)

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