More Than a Mother

BY MAISIE MITCHELL

Mother’s Day is a special day of the year. It’s where we celebrate one of the most important roles in our lives - the motherly figure. For some of us, this might be a nod to our birth mums, but for a lot of people, it recognises many other types of mother figures.

Around this time every year, we are bombarded with promotional content surrounding Mother’s Day. We understand the importance of celebrating all that mums do, but we also recognise that this day can be challenging for many individuals for various reasons.

Many of us are fortunate enough to have non-biological mother figures in our lives to appreciate. Whether it’s your step-mum, the school nurse who always made you feel better, that one teacher who changed your life, your foster mum who took you in, the office mum who brings in treats every week, or the friend group’s designated mum who makes sure everyone’s okay on a night out – most of us have got someone who’s like a mother to us.

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines a mother as “a female parent of a child or animal; a person who is acting as a mother to a child.

It’s about those with motherly qualities rather than stereotypical concepts of who a mother is.

So, to those who have lost their mothers, mothers who have lost their children, individuals who never had a mother, or have chosen not to become mothers. To those who yearn to become mothers, those with strained relationships, and those with fulfilling relationships. To all mothers, stepmothers, new mothers, grandmothers, pet mothers, adoptive mothers, single mothers, and everyone in between, happy Mother’s Day!