Oh what a lovely, story Mark! I hope Madeline has read it. You have a wonderful way with words.

My sisters and I were also latchkey kids. One day we forgot our key and my little sister had to climb through a tiny bathroom window. She caught her leg on something sharp and we had to bandage her up as soon as we got inside. In the days before our parents trusted us with the house keys we had to wait for our mother in the shed at the end of the garden. She would leave snacks in there for us, but one day she forgot and I remember feeling really sad and neglected. Poor Mum felt terrible. Apart from that, she was the best mother. 😊