I'm the Mum... On Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

To the all the mums. The single mums, the nannas, the great grandmas, the mothers in law, the working mums, the stay at home mums, the new mums, the seasoned mums... All the mums.

Gorgeous lettering by the gorgeous lady - Emma Kate Co

Today marks the third Mother's Day that I haven't had my own mum to share the day with. I think of her often often, but especially on days like today. There are so many little snippets of her that I remember. Little bits and pieces that made up our life as mother and daughter.  I felt like if I wrote them down somewhere then they'd be preserved and I wouldn't forget them as time goes on... So I keep a list in a word doc on my computer, and thought I might share just a few of them today.

I remember how on my first day at my new school (I was in year 1), she came to check on me at lunch time, I was getting my lunch out of my bag and she came around the corner, and I gave her a little smile as if to say "I'm ok!" and then off she went again.

I remember when there was room for me to sit on her lap again after my brother was born.

Mum with my brother and I.

I remember we would write little notes to each other and leave them on our pillows.

I remember how she would do my hair in a pony tail every morning before school.

I remember the meals she cooked, the cheesy pasta sauce that was my favourite. I remember that we were allowed to have a packet of chips on a Friday after school, and Sunday was always pizza night.

I remember getting my ears pierced when I was 10 and she held onto my hand.

I remember how she used to walk around the shops really fast! Like she wanted to get her shopping over and done with as quickly as she could. And when I was little I had to jog to keep up with her.

I remember the hours she spent sewing all of my dancing costumes. That would have been a LOT of sequins over 10 years!

I remember how she forgot to put film in the camera at my 18th birthday (remember when cameras had film lol?).

I remember how she would come to school to listen to the children read.

I remember how nervous she seemed on my wedding day getting her hair done, but she kept me calm when I was getting teary.

I remember ringing her (in the middle of the night) to tell her that Miss M was born.

My Mum with Miss M on her last birthday.

I remember when she was unwell in hospital, and she said "They tell me that this is the path, and so I'll do it." She was so brave. I remember all of those hospital visits...

And I remember her last day. That day I will never forget. The day that she couldn't fight the cancer anymore.

--------

You may have seen on social media that I support the Witchery + Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation's White Shirt Campaign and the brilliant thing about it is that ALL of the money from the shirts goes to Ovarian Cancer research - which is desperately needed. If there was an early detection test (like a pap smear) so many lives could be saved. Ovarian Cancer is known as "the silent killer" because the symptoms are so subtle (if you don't know what the symptoms are - please read this and inform yourself).

Attempting to rock my Witchery white shirt #notafashionblogger

So today I've spent the day with the kids and James of course who made the day special with a Maccas hazelnut latte delivered to me in bed, followed by a bowl of Weet Bix and some thoughtful + handmade gifts. We then headed off to brunch with my in laws (who I utterly adore - and I know they'll be reading this because they are devoted blog followers - you know how much I love you xx)... 

Impossible to get the perfect blog worthy photo!

I looked at some photos of mum, I wrote this post, we enjoyed the sunshine. The kids were happy. The day was relatively tantrum free.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums! And if your mum is still in your life, give her an extra hug from me. 

Lauren xx