Tomorrow, I’ll wave a cheery goodbye to my only child as she hops into my ex-husband’s car to spend her first Christmas away from me. Flynn, my eight-year-old daughter, will stay with her father, Philip, his partner and her three children in the home they share.
I will be alone on Christmas Day — I’ve chosen not to accept friends’ kind invitations — yet I feel neither bruised nor resentful.
Flynn goes with my blessing, as I’m honouring a promise she should not be made to feel torn between conflicting loyalties to two parents she loves equally. I know she’ll have great fun with her dad: his partner is kind to her and her children have welcomed her into their extended family. I’m delighted she will be happy.