The List – What I learnt from my Mother

My mother is such a special person. She is by no means perfect because at the end of the day none of us really are, that’s the joy of being human. We just have to live our lives in the best way we know how doing the best we can. Now, I’m probably biased in saying this but I just don’t think many people get it as right as she does. My mother, is a super hero and here’s why.

• My mother is the most ethical and honest person I know. She has taught me, over the years that we need to always be honourable and live in a way that we can be proud. That may not always mean that things go best for us but you can always go to sleep with a clean conscience.
• My mother has taught me that love and money are not the same thing. It is because of my mother that I know that the true gifts we can give our children don’t cost a cent. They come from the heart and are more precious than anything money can buy.
• My mother has always shown me the importance of living within your means. It’s more important to have peace of mind than to spend what you can’t and live in constant fear. She has in the same breath taught me, that it’s okay to indulge, when you know that you can.
• My mother has taught me the meaning of sacrifice. No other single being in this world has sacrificed so much to be a good parent. She has shown me the importance of loving without limits.
• My mother has taught me how to always be the kind of person that other people can rely on. If you make a promise, or you say you will do something then you darn well do it. Being reliable is always something I can say I definitely got from my mother.
• My mother has taught me, the importance of making decisions that other people don’t always understand. Of being true to yourself because you know that is what counts more than anything else.
• My mother taught me, to follow your heart, no matter how unconventional and to put everything you have into getting to where you need to be.
• My mother has taught me, the importance of not living with prejudice and bias. In a time when it was not normal to love people of other races, my mother followed her heart. My mother has shown me how to live a life where I never judge others based on their skin colour or social backgrounds.
• My mother has shown me that no matter how many times I fall down, she will be there to pick me up and dust off my knees and tell me everything will be okay. She patiently lets me learn from my mistakes and has allowed me to grow into the kind of person that I needed to be and not the kind of person who lived up to her expectations of me.

My mother, a special kind of human being.

A non judgemental parent who has never enforced her own beliefs on me. She has shown me that no matter my choices in life, she will always love me. My mother is the kind of person that everyone loves. The kind of person who makes other people happy just by being around them. My mother is the kind of person who will do the things you can’t do that need to be done. She is the the kind of person that others are lucky to have in their lives. From her determination to be who she is without apology, to her blessing to let you be who you are. When you come home with tattoos that she oohs and ahhs over, when you have the wrong boyfriend, or the right boyfriend, when you bring home stray pets, my mother will always welcome you with open arms. Arms filled with love and understanding. When you get it wrong, she never says I told you so. Even though you know she did.

My mother, Bonnie; a woman with so much integrity and love. If I could be even a tiny bit the mother that she is, I will be grateful.

Thank you mom, for always being the person I can count on.

I love you as big as the sky.