In a recent edition of Marie Claire magazine, an excerpt from a book Elton John has contributed to was published, a collection of letters celebrities had written to their sixteen year old selves. These celebrities had put pen to paper to reflect on their lives, to wish they hadn’t spent so much time dieting or taken as many drugs as they had. I thought the idea of writing a letter to your sixteen year old self was novel – at just twenty six myself, ten years is not a long time in the scheme of things but its amazing how much you can reflect on in such a short time. I too wrote about how I wished I had spent more time enjoying myself and less time worrying about my weight or what other people thought of me. But the one thing I wrote that is perhaps something lot’s of teenage girls might write – I wished I had been nicer to my mother. 

Every teenager goes through a rebellious period; some make it through to the other side of adolescence, older and wiser, while others fail somewhere along the way and lose their direction in life, not picking it up again until sometime in their 20s. I was one of the lucky ones and I attribute a lot of that to my mother. When I wanted to be left alone, she talked to me. When I told her I hated her, she loved me. When I cried, she hugged me and when I felt like I couldn’t get out of bed, she helped me get through the more difficult days. She made decisions I didn’t agree with at the time but that I now know were the right decisions. She knew me better at sixteen than I knew myself.

Do you remember the first mother’s day card you made yourself? The first gift you made for her or your nana in kindergarten or prep class? The first present from the primary school mothers day stall? Most likely mugs filled with chocolates or photo frames made out of macaroni. Gifts your mum has probably treasured and looks upon fondly – years of memories of your childhood, of when her children where just her babies and before the angst of the teenage years began.

Don’t wait another year to show your mum just how much she means to you, remember the painful teenage years and what you put her through and start repaying the debt now. Hand picking her favourite flowers requires thought and effort, a home cooked meal for the woman who has spent a good part of her life cooking for you is a winner and doing her garden or cleaning her house are similar ideas that require little capital but go a long way. Use your imagination – what would make her life easier, give her some time to herself or help her relax?

At twenty six years old; the age my mother was when she gave birth to me; I certainly didn’t need to write a letter to my sixteen year old self to realise how much my mum means to me or that she is one of the best people in my life. I can’t possibly imagine being a mother at this age and am in awe of all those who are. Every time I go to a concert, eat out for dinner or spend a whole day shopping I am reminded of what my mother gave up to spend her 20s bringing up babies. If I can give my mother something back that lets her have a little time to herself after more that twenty five years of putting her children first, then that is the best mother’s day present money can buy – and time is a gift that requires no money at all.

Happy Mother’s Day Mum, love you always.

Image One: Mum and I at my best friends wedding, October 2008
Image Two: My paternal grandmother and I at a cousins wedding, April 2009
Image Three: Dad and I, Christmas 2008 – just so he doesn’t feel left out
Image Four: Mum and I at my brothers deb ball, May 2007