Train delays, slow waitresses, post office queues, automated phone services… the list is endless of things that try my patience. Patience is something I have always thought I’ve had in abundance. I’ve never been one to complain, never penned an angry letter to a train company, have never been able to leave a waiter/waitress without a tip even if the service was rubbish.

But a true test of patience is becoming a parent. For starters, you have to wait 9 months for the baby to come, it’s a long time! Then the sleepless nights, I had been warned, we coped with no1 son, tantrums, fussy eating, we managed. But when the twins arrived, that was the testing period for this particular virtue! My daughter had colic, for 2 solid hours every night and the only way she slept was in the baby sling or in her chair by the washing machine, when either of these were not viable to use, we rocked her and rocked her, singing nursery rhymes in a slightly manic high pitched voice. Tantrums x 2, Fussy Eaters x 2, we are managing….