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My sister is 12 years younger than me so I knew what it was like to be around small children. I was amazed when I heard my friends talking about having children when we were in our early twenties - most of them had never held a baby let alone changed a nappy. When trying to explain how I felt about children the best I could come up with was "I love them, but you can't switch them off."
I had a lot of experiences with my sister that my friends have had with their children. I remember saying something to her and realising I sounded just like my mum, and it certainly helped me to understand my parents better. I also remember when she wouldn't stop screaming one day (she must have been two or three at the time) I reached my limits and screamed back, at which point she stopped, looking extremely surprised. I also learnt that however horrible she was, and however many times she said "I hate you" I couldn't say it back. No matter what she did, how irritated or frustrated I got, I loved her.
It's wonderful now because we swap books, visit each other and she's old enough to give me lifts. I don't think I gave her too many scars (although I have one or two embarrassing photos). I wouldn't rule out having children of my own, but I don't feel it's something I must do, and I know that not only would children change my life, there would be a lot of work, patience and responsibility involved as well as all the good things. I admire most parents, because what they're doing isn't easy and most children aren't bad, it's just that everyone notices the naughty/noisy ones!
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