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Lisa Fox – a 42-year-old mom from Newcastle in the UK who
welcomed her first grandchild, Archie, just eight weeks ago – is a far cry from
a typical gran.
"When I found out I was becoming a grandmother I felt a lot of people around me thought I would see it in a negative way, a misconception that I would feel I was getting old,” Lisa said.
"But it was the complete opposite; having a baby in the family is just such a joy. It in no way made me feel as if I was getting old.
“If anything being younger is an advantage and means I have more time to spend with Archie.
"It also means that I can run around and do a lot more activities with him."
The mom of three is hard to tell apart from her 18-year-old daughter, Hollie, and strangers often mistake her for eldest son James’ girlfriend.
"I often get mistaken for James' girlfriend and I even got a phone call from a friend who believed she’d seen him walking down the road with another woman when it was, in fact, me,” she said.
The housewife had her first son at 18 and daughter Hollie at 25 before her youngest son, Jack, came along when she was 30. In November last year, James and his partner welcomed baby Archie into the world.
The former estate agent was always considered the “cool mum” among her children's friends.
"I was a young mom at 18 and there was and still is a certain stigma around young moms not doing much after they’ve had a baby.
"It was a shock at the time as I was on the pill but I had very supportive parents who helped me along the way.
"I was determined to work and picked up a bar job, running home every night to make sure James was fed.
"We are very close as a family and with a smaller age gap, it means we have a lot of similar interests in music, films and fashion.
"The kids even took me along to a Coldplay concert,” Lisa said.
The mom hopes to have children with her husband, Graeme (43), whom she married in May last year, but says it will be strange to think her baby's nephew will be older than him or her.
"When I look back at my own grandparents, they wouldn't have been able to look after young children, whereas I'm young enough to be able to run after them,” she said.
"So many people start younger now and it's nice to see some more glamorous grannies around."
Source: Magazine Features
Pictures: CATERS/WWW.MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA
