Celine Dion Kinda Love 1

“You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ’cause you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me” Celine Dion 

I have the kind of Mum I want to be when I grow up. I didn’t always think this way. A child of a divorced family. People whispering in my little six-year-old ears. Left my opinion of my dear Mum tarnished. Now I’m 26, and the years have made me wiser to the hurts behind those whispers and now my Mum is one my dearest friends. I’ve come to know her as the bravest woman in my world.

She came out in a time when it was deeply unpopular. She cleaned houses to make sure my sister and I were provided for, until I’m a mother myself, I’ll never truly comprehend a parent’s resolve within to lay their life down for their child. From birth, I’ve been a sensitive soul. I remember when I was 15, struggling with the black dog and I said to her, almost casually in the kitchen one day…“Mum, I just don’t see the point in living anymore.”She grabbed me by the shoulders and she looked me in the eyes the kind of look that penetrates your soul, the kind of look only a mother can give.

“You have a big dream in that heart my girl and you are destined for great things, never give up! You hear me! Never give up!”

So, I didn’t. I’ll never forget that moment and it’s kept me alive many more times after when hopelessness has come to town for a visit. I have the kind of Mum I want to be when I grow up, I want my children to know they can do anything they put their mind to and they don’t need everyone to approve either.

I yearn for the day I can hold my child, stroke their hair and comfort them like my Mum did for me. I look to her when I think about what I would do if my child struggled with a mental illness or a heartbreak. Looking at her life reminds me it’s never too late to get it right, to start again, to make something new.

Is there a woman in your life that has changed your life forever? Or even saved it?

Not all of us have amazing Mums, I see you there.

But there’s no shortage of incredible woman out there we can look to. In a time when all seems lost in the world. People like my Mum, give me hope that “Celine Dion kinda love” really can change the world.

One child at a time.