I'm 48, married, no children (having a baby never felt quite the right thing to do). My wonderful mum died when I was 25, my father died 2 years later. My step dad, whose been in my life since I was 10, is still very much part of my life, although he's understandably busy with his new wife, but I get on very well with her. My younger brother lives miles away, there's no bad blood, but we're not close.
So I don't feel like I have a family network as such, and it makes me feel quite vulnerable at times. DH's relatives are on the other side of the country, and his two children (from his first marriage) are grown up and busy with their own lives. We don't see them very often.
I have some nice friends, but none of them know each other, so it's not like a network of friends. I'd never really analysed my situation, until DH had a health scare earlier this year. It turned out to be something very minor and is now fully fixed, but for the week when we were waiting for the results, I realised that without him, I'm pretty much alone, and it terrified me.
I've never really got over mum's passing, it left a huge hole in my life, and I do wish I'd got some sisters, but I can't do much about that. I know I can't create relatives out of thin air, but how can build the lovely safety net that having relatives brings, and that most people still have in place at my age?
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Relationships
I have very few relatives, and feel quite vulnerable
Sunnyfeet · 12/09/2016 21:10
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