The exhausted children's minister was speaking after touring studios and holding a major press conference to launch her eagerly awaited Children's Bill.
Hodge had plenty to say last Thursday, but on the evidence of the Bill she's clearly been in listening mode. Parts of it are unrecognisable from the green paper she launched only in September. Hodge sees no reason to apologise.
"We just listened to what people have said to us," she says. "When you're embarking on a radical transformation it is vital you work with the stakeholders, and that's how I want to take this forward.
"We had many representations so we've given greater flexibility over timeframes. I'd like things to happen yesterday but, of course, I recognise some of this will take time.
"We are in the early learning stages about children's trusts. I've got a vision in my brain, but we'll have to see what works on the ground, learn from that and move on."
The Bill makes no mention of trusts, but the accompanying document Next Steps makes it clear the Government wants to see all upper-tier councils setting them up by 2008.
So what does that mean for Manchester, which said it did not want to establish a trust because it saw the change as mere structural tinkering?
"All authorities, including Manchester, will be inspected against the delivery of our five outcomes for children's services," she says. Guidance to be published in the autumn will lay out exactly what the Government expects of all councils.
It's clear councils will face immense pressure to set up some kind of trust, even though it will not be a statutory requirement to do so.
"That's the whole thrust of what we're doing. We won't tell you how to do it, but we'll tell you what we want and we'll inspect you vigorously."
Partnership working does not just embrace local authority departments and some have expressed the fear that GPs will not fulfil their responsibilities. But Hodge is determined to get GPs involved.
"Young children will see their GP more than they see any other professional person in the early years of their lives," she says. "I think we will do it partly through training, partly through their obligations in the GP contracts, partly, I hope, through having multi-agency teams working together in schools or GP surgeries, partly through the way we inspect services, and partly through the outcomes that we set."
The greatest concern expressed in the sector is that structural change can destabilise services when what is really needed is extra resources to pay for more social workers on the ground. Hodge denies she's ever claimed the changes under the green paper would be cost neutral.
"When did I say that?" she says. "Did I really say that? I don't think I ever did, or even ever thought it.
"I have always said money counts, but this reform goes beyond extra money.
It is about the absolute cultural transformation of the way in which we provide services for children in our society. But my first responsibility is to eke out value for every penny we spend on children's services."
Finally, she points to an increase in the budget for children's social services of nine per cent next year. And she's just earmarked 20m for improving training.
"The rest has to fall into the consideration of (July's) spending review and that's why we've said that once that's settled we'll publish a further paper showing how we can take this thing forward," she adds.
With child poverty a personal priority for Chancellor Gordon Brown, it seems she's hinting there should be some good news when she presents her report in the autumn.
SOUNDBITES Hodge on ...
- The possibility of a free vote on an amendment to ban smacking: "We always keep the matter under review."
- The rationalisation of DfES budgets: "What's my job? It is about bringing together education and children's social services - so we have to pool our budgets."
- Children's trusts: "We are looking at what works. We're not pretending we know all the answers."
- Next steps: "There are lots of pieces to the jigsaw. This morning is the Bill, the next bit is the work we're doing around the spending review, and in the autumn we'll bring it all together."
