My mother left us when I was almost five. Walked out on me, Daddy and my baby sister Ellie. I can’t remember much; Daddy said I cried a lot, and needed loads of cuddles. Daddy remarried a couple of years after, a nice lady he knew from work. Amanda was around for eight years, then she got offered a really big promotion, provided she moved to New York. We held a family meeting, all agreed it was way too good an opportunity for her to pass up. She flew home every other weekend, then once a month, then not for three months. I was dating by then, so I guess I didn’t specially notice her absence. Then we had another family meeting; Amanda and Daddy couldn’t make it work and were divorcing as friends. We kept in touch, she even came back to spend Christmas with us the first couple of years before she remarried.

I won a scholarship to State; it wasn’t all that much of a wrench because my boyfriend Ryan and several of my girlfriends were also headed there. Ellie and I skyped several times a week, she was just starting high school. She and Daddy had taken up geo-caching as a hobby – they both enjoyed being out in the fresh air, and the exercise was doing them both good. I was pleased that they were such great friends, I’d been a little worried that she’d be lonely without big sis around.