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Two thirds a midwife. That's me! I had my last ever science exam yesterday afternoon and now I am FREE! For 3 months I am returning to the land of taking my kids to school, doing the groceries at a normal hour of the day, attending school assemblies, actually having time to sort the laundry and not just rummage in the ever mulitiplying baskets that are scattered through the house and reading books that do not contain the words placenta and cervix.

This was indeed the hardest year of my life. I have never felt so close to tears for so much of the time. It was unrelenting and endless. Except now it has ended, and I am still here.

Today I even took a nap and didn't feel guilty.

I still have to see my follow through women of course, over Summer. I have been at two lovely births over the past couple of weeks, and I am waiting for 2 more. That will be 20 completed, and then I can recruit my final 10. I am definately feeling more confident now. I actually saw a video of one of the births last week, I was cringing before I watched, thinking "Great, for all eternity their beautiful birth video will have me in it being a klutz!" But, whaddya know, I actually look like I know what I'm doing! Who would have thought it?

My best moment of the year, I think, was a couple of weeks ago at the end of a long, hard labour with a first time mum. She worked so hard and beautifully the whole time and as I passed her slick, squirmy bundle up to her chest he whole face just lit up from within and she gasped in surprise, saying "Oh! It's a baby! I have a baby!" I think she'd actually forgotten what she was there for.