Perhaps I could write a poem.

Not about success.

Not about accomplishments.

Not about the things the world measures and applauds.

But about my greatest achievement.

The eight hearts that taught my own how to love.

A handful of pages for you to keep.

A collection of words for the days when I cannot find my own.

Something to remind you that from the moment I first held you, you became the centre of my world.

And perhaps, if I am fortunate, these words will linger long after I am gone.

A small piece of me left behind.

A love letter from a mam to her children.

                       🩷💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

I am most definitely not perfect.

Because perfect does not exist.

I am simply a mam.

And that has been the greatest privilege of my life.

From the moment I held each one of you, love filled every ounce of me.

A love so fierce that it changed everything.

My arms carried you.

My heart held you.

And from that moment onwards, every part of my life revolved around you.

I watched the first smiles.

The first chuckles.

The rolling.

The crawling.

The walking.

Oh boy, the walking.

Tiny legs wobbling across a room whilst I hovered close by, ready to catch you should you fall.

Always ready to catch you.

And the strange thing about motherhood is that all these years later, I still want to catch you.

The falls are different now.

They are not scraped knees and bumped heads.

They are broken hearts.

Disappointments.

Worries.

Losses.

The moments life throws at you when I can no longer simply scoop you into my arms and make everything better.

Yet every instinct inside me still wants to try.

Because having children is learning to wear your heart outside of your body.

Your joy becomes mine.

Your sadness becomes mine.

Your victories fill me with pride.

And your pain settles inside my chest as though it belongs there too.

Nothing prepares you for that.

There is no manual.

No guidebook.

No perfect set of instructions.

Most of parenting is loving with all you have and hoping it is enough.

I have made mistakes.

I have worried too much.

I have doubted myself more times than you will ever know.

I have replayed decisions late at night and wondered if I could have done better.

But I gave you everything I had.

The love.

The care.

The attention.

The focus.

The endless worrying.

The constant hope that life would be kind to you.

Because you have always been the centre of my world.

There is not a second that passes where I do not care about you.

Not a moment where I stop loving you.

Even when you frustrate me.

Even when we disagree.

Even when life becomes complicated.

The truth is that I never stop being your mam.

Not for a second.

I look at you now and I see people.

Not children.

People.

People with dreams.

Goals.

Connections.

People who love.

People who cry.

People who laugh until they cannot breathe.

People who care deeply about others.

And that fills me with more pride than I can ever put into words.

Not because you are successful.

Not because you are perfect.

But because you are kind.

Because you have empathy.

Because despite everything life can throw at a person, you continue to love.

Trying to get all of you together these days feels almost impossible.

Life pulls you in different directions.

Work.

Friends.

Relationships.

Responsibilities.

Sometimes the house feels quieter than it once did.

Sometimes I miss the chaos.

The noise.

The endless requests.

The toys underfoot.

The laughter drifting through the house.

But then my phone rings.

A message arrives.

You need advice.

You need reassurance.

You need your mam.

And despite everything that changes, that never seems to.

I don’t know where life will take each of you.

I don’t know what adventures lie ahead.

I don’t know what triumphs you will celebrate or what challenges you will face.

But I do know this.

Wherever you go.

Whatever you become.

However old you are.

My love will travel with you.

Because from the moment I first held you, a light ignited inside me.

A maternal light.

One that has never faded.

Not through the difficult days.

Not through the joyful ones.

Not through the passing of years.

And if there is one thing I hope you never doubt, it is this.

Being your mam has been the greatest privilege of my life.

You are the reason I fought when life was hard.

The reason I laughed when I thought I couldn’t.

The reason I kept going when everything felt impossible.

You are the best parts of my story.

My proudest moments.

My greatest lessons.

My deepest love.

And when all is said and done, when the years have passed and my voice is no longer heard as often as it once was, I hope you remember this.

You were loved.

Completely.

Unconditionally.

Without limits.

Without hesitation.

Without end.

And you will always be, each and every one of you.

My greatest achievement 🩷💙💙💙💙💙💙💙