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Eleanor, 31, is from Brighton and is a pharmacist.
"Why do you have to do everything like your mother?!" I remember my husband yelling this at me when we were having a row, and I remember thinking it wasn't just something he was saying to argue back - he really meant it...and what makes it worse, he was right.
Ever since I was tiny, I've always looked up to my mum. To be fair, she looks fab at sixty, so at 40 and 50 she was still attrative and successful and she seemed to take everything in her stride: her job, her marriage and bringing us up. If I ever wanted to know something, I'd ask her, and if I was ever worried about something I'd confide in her. When I had my first baby, I wanted her there to told my hand. I even named my second daughter after her.
Even if I think I'm not under the thumb, in all honesty I know I struggle to make decisions without her: I say to myself, 'What would she do? What would she say?'. Sometimes I even find myself talking like her! I don't want to push her away or get rid of her influence in my life, because she's a wonderful person and I admire her so much, but I am trying to distance myself from her a little. At the end of the day, what I admire most in her is her independence and free spirit. I should follow her example there a bit more!
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