MUM'S THE WORD

It's only a little word, just 3 letters, but it's small and mighty! When I consider what 'Mum' means to me I think of the greatest Mothers of all - the wonderful women in my life, past and present. My Mum - strong, brave, selfless, loving, my absolute idol. My Mother-in-law - kind, caring, resilient, generous. My 'surrogate mum', my grandmothers, my friends... fearless Mama bears that would do anything for their family, anything for me. Mums are literally the strongest people I know. And the job description goes something like this... Carer, chef, cleaner, hotelier, doctor, nurse, teacher, counsellor, friend, mediator, chauffeur, cheerleader, PA, emergency responder. On call 24/7 for the rest of your life. No holidays. No pay. No sleep (OK some sleep after the first year, give or take!) It's the toughest job on earth. And the best.

But no one told Mums about the changes to their contract 2020/21. You know, the one that said 'you will continue to do all this through a national pandemic and all that entails. And it's a lot.

Anna Mathur, Mum of 3, Psychotherapist and all round lovely lady perfectly sums up in 60 seconds, the mish-mash of emotions in 'feeling all the things' - the struggle of balancing those feelings of privilege and gratitude with 'THIS IS HARD' and allowing ourselves to feel both things.

Mums you are epic. The impossible is demanded and you have risen to the challenge. A totally unfair and unprecedented challenge. Some days you felt like you couldn't do it any more. But you got up and carried on anyway. And so we raise a glass (or a cuppa) to celebrate you all; Mums

Step-Mums Grandmothers Mums to be Mums no longer with us Single Mums Working Mums Stay at home Mums Mums doing the best they can, supporting their family near and far away.

So here's to you and everything you do for us. It's an awful lot to fit into just 3 little letters, one syllable, MUM is the word.

I will leave you with this last hopeful note. Back in January when we were staring lockdown 3 in the eyes and feeling all the emotions and overwhelm, I read this beautiful poem, 'And there will be picnics...' by Nelly Bryce of @guiltymothersclub and it stayed with me. A little slice of all the joy to come. And now after all this time, as we set out on what we all hope will be the route back to some longed for precious normality, I will be keeping the destination firmly in mind... keep going, your picnic is waiting!