Image by ydhsu

When I took my lovely little baby for his three month check up at the Maternal and Child Health Nurse recently, something very special happened.

Before leaving the centre I walked over and read a newspaper article on the notice board. Another mother then came up and introduced herself to me. I had never met her before, but she had recognised me from seeing me a supermarket at the start of this year. She says that she remembered seeing me very pregnant with my four children and thought how calm I seemed and how well behaved the children were. She was standing in queue in another aisle with her own child and hoped that she would get a chance to tell me this. We moved on before she was served, so she didn’t get the chance.

This lovely woman said she was so happy to see me again, so she could tell me what a great job she thought I was doing and how nice it was to see a family happy together like we were.

My reason for writing this, is not for me to sprout how wonderful I am, but to say thank you to this woman for taking the time to give me such warm and generous feedback. It made me feel very proud of myself and my family. She did not have to do this, but went out of her way to let me know these thoughts.

With Mother’s Day being celebrated this Sunday in Australia, it made me think again of the kindness of this woman and how great it felt to have my work as a mother acknowledged. It is great to have a day to take time out and appreciate mums, but to me this simple act of honesty and communication did amazing things for my confidence and has stuck with me.

So I intend to celebrate Mother’s work all year round by taking the lead from the mother I met. When I see a mother working beautifully with her family, I will acknowledge it and let her know. I also encourage you to do the same. And Happy Mother’s Day!