Mother, Mummy, Mum – simple words to describe what is surely the most precious, challenging and important role for women who choose to have children.

Mothers come in so many different guises, but no matter which one you take – step mothers, birth mothers, adoptive mother – all are custodians of miracles, marvellous little individuals that we nurture through childhood and watch blossom into adulthood.

There is no manual for being a mother and often the motherhood journey can be frustrating, tiring and demanding but always rewarding!

I am one of those people who are very fortune to have a mother that is also my friend. Mum has been there for me through all the ups and downs of life, lending a hand, supportive words and never judgmental.

However, it is only recently, as my own children have left home that I have come to a new understanding of the other side of what it means to be a mother.

It means letting your children have wings and allowing them to fly, rejoicing in their freedom to be an adult and knowing that you will always be their Mum no matter where they may end up in this world.

Michelle