Becoming a Mother: A Reflection This Mother’s Day

As Mother’s Day approaches, my feed fills with beautiful images, heartfelt quotes, and moving stories of motherhood. And every year, it prompts me to reflect on my own journey how it began, how it’s evolved, and the incredible highs and heart-wrenching lows that have shaped me into the mother I am today.

What many people may not know is that I became a mum at 19. Looking back, I was still a baby myself finding my place in the world, still figuring out who I was. But becoming that little boy’s mum changed everything. It gave me direction, purpose, and a hope for the future that I hadn’t yet known. Today, I am so incredibly proud of the boy he has become. He shaped me as much as I shaped him.

Now, with my fourth and final child a beautiful boy I find myself parenting with a whole new lens. There’s a patience and a calmness in me now that I didn’t have in those early years. A contentment in the simple moments. The love I feel radiates through even the busiest, most chaotic days. I sometimes look back with a little sadness that my older children didn’t always get this version of me but I know they got the best version I had to give at the time.

Our journey hasn’t been simple. We’ve been through separation, the rebuilding of our family, and the emotional toll of navigating the NZ family court system. We’ve faced heartbreak and healing, failure and triumph. But through every twist and turn, the constant has been this: being a mother is my greatest accomplishment.

I am proud every single day of the beautiful, kind, and loving children I have raised. They are my legacy, my teachers, and my greatest joy.

To all the mothers at every stage, in every shape of family this day is for you. For your strength, your softness, and everything in between.