Thank you Mum and Dad

I am no longer number one in my son’s life. I have been replaced by a taller, older, slightly hairier model; his father. I no longer make his milk in the right way, nor wash his face carefully enough and shockingly I am no longer needed at bedtime. When you can’t console your son as he’s screaming “NO. I want DADDY!!!” it’s only human to feel a little hurt and inadequate. Nevertheless, I still do all the little things that go unnoticed to make our son’s life that little bit nicer; putting his pyjamas on the radiator before bedtime, making up stories, cooking his favourite dinners.

Whilst feeling utterly inadequate as a Mummy and in my of pit of despair, I started to believe that being a parent is a thankless task, full of relentless chores and demands from a smaller version of myself. However, it’s not. Yes, there are moments when you want to run away and you feel like you just can’t go on. But there are moments of pure joy; when your child asks for a cuddle and your heart swells with love for them and those moments when they make you laugh by being utterly ridiculous. Those are the times my two-year-old is saying “Thank you Mummy.”

This week Kate Middleton started the conversation about how important the early years of a child’s development is for their future selves. Those early years shape who we become in later life. Humans need to feel safe and loved to flourish. We don’t need the best most expensive toys; we need safety, comfort and conversation.  As my husband said to me “we are doing the most important job we’ll ever do.”

So, I am going to take the opportunity on behalf of my sister and I to say thank you Mum and Dad, for making the most important job seems to effortless - for keeping us safe, loving us unconditionally, giving us the opportunities to be everything we can be and for putting our pyjamas on the radiator. We can never repay the sacrifices that you made to give us the incredible lives that we have and even though we are all grown up, you have never stopped giving.

To all the Mums and Dads, thank you. You are incredible and we see everything you do to make your children’s lives as wonderful as they can be.