MOTHERS ... It's my mum's birthday this week. 81 - wow! Having a loving mum, being a loving mum seems so easy but it's really hard. From the moment you 'have' to get the breastfeeding right, to taking your children to the 'right' swimming school, to wearing a 'cool' outfit to their graduation. It makes me exhausted just thinking about it and the silly thing is that it's only after all those expectations are behind you that you realise how unimportant they are. Oh if I'd only been a little bit truer to my own thoughts, but hey that's 20/20 parenting for you. At my last big '0' birthday one of my sons gave a speech. He thanked me for "always being there when he and his brothers needed help, and when they didn't." I took that as a compliment. And I guess that's what I can say about Joan, my own mum - she has always been there for me when I needed it. And when I didn't. Happy Birthday mum. x