Rachel, wait for us!

Andrew, don't throw sand.

I looked up from my novel, which I began on our arrival at the cottage three days earlier. I had just settled into my lawn chair on the beach when I heard the young couple approaching, two kids and a ton of stuff in tow.

I guessed they were in their early thirties, their children probably two and four, the same age difference as my own son and daughter now nineteen and twenty-one.

They settled on a blanket a few yards from us, and began the ritual. She tried to hold on to the children and apply sunscreen as he arranged chairs and umbrellas and unpacked baskets. Out came a wide array of brightly coloured towels, pails and shovels, the once quiet air suddenly filled with squeals of delight as the kids ran to the waters edge and back again.

It seemed like yesterday I was there with my own children, chasing seagulls, building castles and wiping sand from their eyes. I loved every minute of it.

Everyone has a favourite time in their life, and I would have to say mine were those first incredible years of my children's lives. I watched in amazement as they smiled their first smile, spoke their first word and took their first steps. Each day felt like a gift as I watched their unique personalities unfold.

Being a mother had come naturally to me. I felt in my heart it was what I was meant to do, it's what I was good at. Motherhood is a never-ending job, however these days, with our children fresh home from university I was becoming increasingly aware of how little they relied on me.

I glanced over at the young mother who was scolding her daughter for splashing. Our eyes met and I gave her a knowing smile, as if to say, Been there, done that. She looked tired and a little frazzled. I wanted to tell her to enjoy every minute, because this phase of her life would pass all too quickly, but like every parent, she would find out on her own.

I turned back to my novel, glancing first at my husband who was dozing off on the beach blanket next to me. I smiled. Several careers, a mortgage and two children later, we had certainly come through many 'phases' in our life.

Newly married twenty-four years ago, nothing but time for ourselves and each other, things changed quickly with the arrival of our children. And then, just when I thought the dirty diapers and spit up milk would never end I was holding back tears as I dropped them off at nursery school. Years of slumber parties, piano recitals

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