Earlier this year, I was enlightened.

One of my cousins, my partner and I were having a discussion, and in that discussion the subject came up about how I always tell people I was a ‘mistake’. People would laugh it off and ask why. Lightheartedly, I would tell them that my mum hid her pregnancy from everybody, including my dad, because she couldn’t believe a woman of 40 could fall pregnant.

From the stories my mum tells me, the only reason everybody else started to find out she was pregnant with me, was because she fell from a ladder and straight away grabbed her belly and screamed, ‘the baby!’ My brother would then question her, ‘what baby?’ and that was it. Everybody would find out with only a couple of months to go.

My dad died from a brain tumour at the age of 52. I was 7 (and you can read this story here at Peach and Buck, too.) In the discussion with my cousin and partner, my cousin told me something that struck a cord with me, and has been with me ever since. She said something along the lines of, ‘the day your dad died, I said you were a gift. Because with both your brothers married and out of the house a few years later, after your dad died, she would have been on her own. God planted you because He was going to take your dad, but your mum wasn’t supposed to be alone just yet. That’s why, you were a gift.’

I never ever thought of it that way. Those comments brought me closer to God. Regardless of whether you believe in the spirit world or not, in the last few years, for me, I have felt a connection with my dad. Those words from my cousin just brought that connection closer. And, though I have always been protective of my mum considering what she has gone through, those words have made me her shield.

My dad passed away the 12^th of May and Mother’s Day is always very close if not, falls on the same Sunday.

You are your mother’s greatest gift. Your circumstance doesn’t need to be like mine. No matter how many Buble CDs or irons you buy her, or how many dinners you take her out to for Mother’s day, you will always be her greatest gift. But most of all, she is your greatest gift. But hey, I’m not saying don’t spoil her. She deserves that too, no matter what day.

So my message today: Never take Mum for granted. Appreciate her every day. And please for loves sake, tell her also in person what she means to you, and not just on a social media status of a network she is not even a part of. Spoil your mum, mostly with your presence, whether she’s lonely or not. And hey, don’t forget your grandma, sister and aunt too.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the strong and beautiful mums out there. God bless your mum, and God bless you.

Thank you to my cousin Nitsa for the most wisest words I ever needed to hear.