All About my Mother...

Disclaimer - I was recently approached by Essentials magazine to run a couple of blog pieces celebrating the fact that Essentials magazine is a Mag for "Real Women"... Check out their copy below!

Calling all real women - whatever your size, shape, height, or age essentials magazine needs you!  If you would like to appear in a glossy womens lifestyle magazine this is your chance to shine!  Simply visit www.goodtoknow.co.uk/essentials for further details on how to enter, and follow the campaign on our Facebook and Twitter pages…we can't wait to hear from you.


I was happy to participate in this campaign for a few reasons - Firstly women generally feel under a lot of pressure to look a certain way, be a certain size etc, which isn't always helpful.
Secondly, me and my mum used to bond over issues of Essentials - They were one of the few mainstream mags that used to have a craft section, and to this day, seeing an issue brings back memories of my mum teaching me to sew, knit or make my own clothes.
The final reason I was interested was because this first post is meant to be all about the females in my life who have or continue to inspire me.  Now, like most women, the major female role model in my life is, always has been, and always will be my mum. So any opportunity I get to tell people how fab she is, I generally take it!

So first of all, because my Mum would actually hunt me down and kill me/tell me that she "wasn't angry with me, but just disappointed" (kill me now please!!!) if I ever put a picture of her on here, here is a picture of a "real" style woman/ Mum provided by Essentials.  

So apart from teaching me useful things about how to make my own clothes from scratch, my mum passed on several other useful philosophies on life. Naturally for the vast majority of my childhood, teens and even to a certain extent my twenties, I rebelled against these wisdoms. Eventually, the passage of time, and several bitter life lessons later, I realised she did know what she was on about really... Sorry Mum!

Always do your best - This piece of advice started when I was at school - I was a bit of an anxious kid and contantly lived in fear of having poor exam results. Eventually my mum's advice that as long as I had done the best I could, I would not be letting people down did sink in, and I was a lot happier as a result. The other benefit is that it's given me a great work ethic - I work hard and make sure I do my job to the best of my abilities. 

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait - This one has been proven time and time again, in both my work life and my personal life - a lot of heartache could have been saved if I'd taken a step back and worked out who I was and what I wanted, rather than what other people wanted.

Never be Afraid to Change Your Mind  - Suffice it to say, I probably wouldn't be a divorcee had I taken this one on board earlier...

It's OK to Make Mistakes, as Long as You Learn From Them - Pretty self explainatory, but this one has prevented me from being one of those women who have disaster of a relationship, get dumped and then go back to step one. Fair enough I am divorced, but I learnt from it!


The Importance of Family - I had some really really awful times durings my teens and twenties for various reasons. No matter what was going on, there was always a constant in my life - my family. I guess this one is down equally to my Mum and Dad as well as my sister. Together they provided me with a solid happy place to return whenever I needed to. They got me through some tough times and I know they will always be there for me no matter what happens.


It's OK to help other People - But never ever become a doormat for them. My mum has always been an advocate of doing nice things for other people, but she never lets them cross the line and turn her into a doormat. Again this took a while to sink in, but I'm much happier and more assertive now that it has.


I could literally write a book the size of that last Harry Potter on this subject, but I'll stop there - I hope I have conveyed something of how special my Mum is to me though. 

So Mum, for keeping me in line, teaching me right from wrong, inspiring me and guiding me to be the person I am...

Thank You!