Mothers

Since it's Mother's Day, I have, unsurprisingly, been thinking about Mothers! In particular thinking about how fortunate I have been to have such a great Mum and Grandmas and women who have been like mothers to me at important times in my life. This photo is of my Mum. A few years ago I had to write a couple of paragraphs on people who had influenced me as a leader, and my Mum was top of the list. I'm not sure whether she sees it in herself, but her perseverance against the odds, her care for others, her ability to draw people together and work to make the world a better place, her sense of fun and creative mind, her heart to explore and see the possibilities rather than problems, and many other things have had an enormous influence on me. Her mum, my Grandma, seemed a woman ahead of her time to me, she seemed so confident and adventurous, and inspired me to push myself. My Dad's mum, who I wrote about a few weeks ago, has taught me what it means to love and to serve others without seeking reward, and to both dream dreams for the future and be content with the present. And of course the greatest gift has been knowing that I have been loved unconditionally by them all, even if it has not always been articulated like that.

In Kathy, Sue, Nikki, Louise, Pat, Sue, Pat and Vicky I have also had great mentors, givers of wise counsel, who have encouraged me to grow into the woman I am now, who have given me a hug when I have needed it, and a kick when I have needed that too.  In different ways at different times they have been a great gift to me. And have helped me know that although I won't be a biological mother, that I can be like a mother to others at times, it is a real privilege when I get to do that. And of course I love being a godmother too :-)

So today, thank you Mum and all those other 'Mums' I've had. I miss those who are no longer here, but rejoice in all that I have been given through them all, and hope that in some small way I can be as good a 'mother' to others as they have been to me.