Happy Mother’s Day

Straight on the back of International Women’s Day, we have Mother’s Day. This got me thinking; everyone celebrating inspirational women and their impressive achievements, but what about the Mothers who have dedicated themselves to raising a family? Women who have opted out of a potentially impressive and lucrative career to spend time with their children – what about them? Are they inspirational women?

I believe being a mum is the most challenging and rewarding career a woman can have. There’s no days off, no paid holidays and no pay raise!

However, I also feel that when a woman says “I’m a stay a stay-at-home mum” or a “domestic engineer”, the world writes her off. Inspiring, achiever, successful are not really the words that spring to mind. Dull, boring, demotivated, tend to be the descriptions for stay-at-home mums.

But if we take a look at our world, it’s the Mums who are the glue that hold it all together. Raising respectful, polite people who are caring and understand their role in the grand scheme of things doesn’t happen by accident. Some mum has taken the time and care to devote to helping that little one develop, even when she’s been exhausted, hungry and undervalued.

How many incredible women do we all know, who could have been “something” , but they were home bringing up kids? Did they waste their talents? What could they have been? Would it really have made a bigger impact in the world than bringing up their families well? Not to their families it wouldn’t! And surely to the world, the biggest contribution a mum can make is bringing up her children to be responsible and respectful people who add value to other people’s lives, rather than being troublesome and a burden on society?

Did you have one of those incredible mums who were always at home for you? How fortunate you were! Like me; I too had an incredible mum who devoted her time to making sure her family were looked after, nurtured and given every opportunity to develop into healthy, confident, respectful adults. Was her talent wasted? I don’t think so.

What about women who are career driven? Independent, strong women. I fall into this category and I know I missed out on a lot of my children’s younger years, but always made sure to have great holidays and encouraged them into sport and education. Times may have changed since my mother’s day, but childrens’ requirements for time and love haven’t. Could I have done better? Probably, but they’ve turned out okay, thankfully, and I’m extremely proud of them. Their Dad helped (a little!)!

Some mums are going it alone. My goodness, they must literally be superhuman! How on earth they keep going is beyond my comprehension and they not only bring up kids, but often do paid work too! I take my hat off to you!

There’s no doubt about it; a mum is a special breed and every mum deserves to feel worthwhile and valued. Without their valuable contribution, the world would indeed be a worse place to live.

Who’s the first one to get a call when there’s a problem? Mum

Who’s the first one to hear your good news? Mum

Who’s your biggest fan? Mum!

Of course, all good things come to an end and inevitably, at some point you might lose your mum. If this is you; I’m truly sorry for your loss. I, too have lost my mum and it doesn’t get easier as time passes. That’s just a lie to keep you optimistic, I think. However, I will enjoy Mother’s Day. I will celebrate my memories and laugh at the good times we shared. I’ll have a wee chortle to myself over some of the modern words she didn’t quite get and some of the fun times we had when we were away together. Those memories will always be with me and I treasure them.

This Mother’s Day though, I’m going to spend it with another mother, enjoying a delicious champagne afternoon tea and having a great laugh! Unfortunately, I’ll be driving and she’ll be having the champagne! How did I get that so wrong!

Our children will be enjoying themselves doing something else, as we’re busy being strong and independent women! While we still can! Our children know that we’ve already made plans and we’ll see them later on in the day to celebrate with them.

What are your plans or is it just another day?

Are you a mum? If so, what sort of mum are you?

Do you worry that you’ll lose your identity if you become a mum?

How do we change the world’s perspective on a mum’s role within society so that mums feel valued and their work is recognised for what it is?

Does it need to change?

For the record; I think all mums are amazing! I think we all have elevated tolerance levels, great empathy and seriously thick skin! Who would ever choose to do this job if they saw the job description first? However the rewards are great. You create your own best friends for life. What could be better?

I truly hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day and manage to spend some quality time creating precious memories.