Many women dream of becoming mothers, but unfortunately, today’s busy lives don’t make it easy to find a soul mate or devote enough time to parenthood. So, as her 50th birthday approached, Kelly Clarke, from Crawley, Sussex, England, realized she had had a successful career in tourism while her friends started a family. Although she had always wanted to be a mother, she had not met the right person. So Kelly decided to explore other paths to parenthood. She flew to Athens to undergo ɪɴ ᴠɪᴛʀᴏ ꜰᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ.
The pregnancy test came back positive 12 days after the treatment. When she heard the news of the baby’s arrival, her family expressed some concerns: She was single, in her early twenties, and it would have been difficult for her to raise a child on her own, but Kelly says she didn’t. She says she has never regretted her choice. “They were worried about me and the implications of using a donor,” she explained. His daughter, Lyla Rae Clarke, was born in March 2021, weighing 3.5 kg. “From the first day she came into the world, my family changed their minds too,” Kelly commented.
“They are now incredibly supportive and couldn’t be a better family for her. I don’t know what I would do without them. She has two amazing cousins who adore her and she adores them, an aunt and great -parents, so as far as I’m concerned, she’s very much loved.” After Lyla was born, Kelly quit her job as manager of the North Terminal at Gatwick Airport, as it was not compatible with her new needs as a mom, and she retrained as a swimming instructor.
Another perk of being a single parent over 50, according to Kelly, is that she can raise Lyla Rae in her own way. “I’m happy that I don’t have co-parenting because I can raise it any way I want and I don’t have to disagree with anyone or have a partner who does the opposite of what I do. do when I’m not there. Besides, I can spend all my time with her,” she said.
Regarding how she decided to have her daughter, Kelly explained that she wanted to tell the truth: “When she is old enough to understand the situation, I will explain everything to her. I will be honest and sincere, and she will know that all is well.” Although she’s convinced she picked the right time to become a parent, the new mum admitted that she sometimes thinks about being an “older” mom.
“I realized that in 20 years, when she’s 22, I’ll be 72. Now I’m thinking about long-term solutions, like life insurance and inheritance, that hadn’t come up before. But I don’t have much left to settle my mortgage, and once it is settled, the house will be hers. One thing is certain: Lyla will know that she is loved and how much I wanted her, she will know everything I did to bring her into my world,” she said.
Our best wishes to this wonderful family!