I'll copy here what I had started to write all those months ago-
On the way home from school today I was chatting to the kids about their day and JJ was telling me that lunchtime was a bit rubbish as some other kids kicked him and his friends off the football pitch. In the hope of getting onto better ground I asked how his lessons were today and he told me they were a bit rubbish too. Apparently they were doing RE (Religious Education) and they had to write about who their hero was, he thought this was pretty naff as he is a bit of a stickler for things being correct and he could not fathom how heroes fitted into RE.
He said that everyone had to name their hero and who would I say? So I talked a little about Jesus being my hero and that was probably why this had come up in RE, as there were lots of people like me who felt their God was the most awesome hero. I got a bit of a huff at this (he is 9 after all) and I asked who he had said was his hero then. This was when my heart swelled as he told me quite matter-of-factly that I was his hero. I was a special Mum as I liked to help other people, he thought it was cool that I made shoe boxes for less fortunate kids at Christmas and that I was travelling abroad to try and help people too. You can't ask for much more than that, can you?I'm not sure why that post never made it live, I must have got busy but it is certainly something I'll never forget. It is the little things that stay with you as a parent. But why was Aviva asking this question you must be wondering? Well, they spoke to loads of parents and most agreed that the most heroic thing you can do as a parent is to protect the future of your family. No one likes to think about what will happen if the worst scenario comes about but I certainly think it is necessary.
Since dh and I got our first mortgage in 1997 we have had life insurance to ensure that the other has adequate protection if something bad happened to one of us. Once we had our first child in 2003 we then added critical illness cover as it felt much more necessary to ensure that we would all be secure if one of us got really ill. Can you imagine the stress of trying to look after three small children, whilst working full-time to ensure you can pay the mortgage? Oh no, we want to ensure that if one of us gets critically ill, or God forbid dies then at least the children can continue to live the lifestyle they have become used to. Not one full of extravagance but just one they know and can take comfort in.
Of course, the situation is different for every family and it is important to seek independent financial advice if you are looking to make important changes in your life. Dh and I are in the process of moving at the moment and that throws up all sorts of decisions we need to make as we will no longer have a mortgage nor generous salaries, so it will be back to the drawing board and we need to work out exactly what cover we need now. Thankfully for us we have a deep faith in the Lord and that carries us a long way.
I spotted that Aviva offers a free life insurance policy for new parents, you can have £10,000 of cover free of charge until your child turns one. If you are on maternity leave this gives you space to get back to work and be earning again and buys you time to make arrangements for full cover (if that is what you decide to do). Aviva offer a whole host of different covers that you might be interested in and their website is full of helpful information - take a look!