PH
In the minutes, hours, days and weeks after having my children. I was 42 and 45. There’s nothing like new life.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 September 2018 source ↗
The question
What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Others on this question
View all 577 →In the 18-yard box.
Sarah Parish
English actress
In the first month of my second daughter Nell’s life. My first daughter, Ella-Jayne, was born with a serious heart defect so I didn’t get to just be a mum, I was a carer for the eight months of her life and lived in a hospital. When Nell was born, having a healthy child and being able to be a mum was incredible.
Wherever I’m sitting, once I finish this questionnaire.
In recent times, when I was looking after my mum. She would take me on journeys in her mind and I’d travel with her wherever she went. I felt happy that I had the opportunity to have that time despite her illness.
More from Patricia Hodge
View profile →The Queen. Her like has not been seen before and I doubt it will ever be again.
A ballet dancer, but it changed to being an actress when I got put in a school play.
Not having four children.
I wish I could say sorry to my husband, because I couldn’t save him from his dementia.
Not applying myself enough at school.
Two days ago, at a family wedding, remembering Richard, my cousin. He was 11 months younger than me and we were brought up like brother and sister for the first four years of our lives. He died of a brain tumour when he was 55.
More on time & hindsight
- What lesson has mattered most in your life? 138 answers
- What counsel would you give your twenty-year-old self — and what should they ignore? 78 answers
- What worries you about getting older? 61 answers
- What counsel has proved most valuable to you? 28 answers
- If you could put a message on a giant billboard, what would it say and why? 25 answers
- What line from a parent, teacher, or mentor do you still repeat to yourself? 23 answers
Also answered this
Michael Ball, Una Stubbs, Burt Reynolds, Alison Steadman, Mary J Blige, Rhys Ifans
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All time & hindsight questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject