A Mum in a Million

On Mother’s Day, there’s a story I love to tell our family about my Mum. 

I was nine years old, and I had a stomach bug. In the middle of the night, I went to wake my Mum up to tell her I’d been sick. 

“Well, go and clear it up before it marks the carpet.” 

What can I say? Mum isn’t big on nurturing children through minor illnesses. Joking aside, though, my Mum deserves ALL the fuss on Mother’s Day, and more. 

This Mother’s Day, the rather lovely folks at Photobox offered me the chance to choose a gift for my Mum and we opted for this – a fab, framed print of one of my favourite family photos. We’d already had photo books made of a professional shoot we had done for Mum a few years’ back, but I noticed they hadn’t printed any of the images, so this is perfect.

The delivery and ordering process was a snap and if you were to choose a similar print/frame, then the cost including delivery is £92. Fingers crossed Mum loves it as much as we do! 

This Mothers Day, Photobox has teamed up with Nectar to offer a Millionaire Draw. Link up your Nectar card and you could win a million Nectar points! The competition closes on March 22nd, and you can link your card and enter the Millionaire Draw here.

If you want to get involved on social, Photobox is running a competition to share a photo of your #muminamillion on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to be in with a chance to win £100’s worth of Nectar and Photobox goodies. You can find details on the Photobox Facebook page. 

My Mum became my Mum one April day in 1976. I was a little over 18 months old, and I was moved from my foster home to be with new carers nearer to my birth family, in Lancashire.

In her early 30s, Mum had cared for more than a dozen kids like me, children who needed a safe place to stay. Some of those kids came from really difficult, abusive backgrounds – but Mum always said that you can overcome most things if you’re loved. 

At the time, Mum had two little boys of her own, and was fostering another boy. Having a girl in the house was pretty big news, but Mum handled it quite well when it turned out I would rather have a screaming fit and stand at the top of the stairs shouting, “I HATE YOU!” than actually wear a dress.

When I was six, my foster parents split and my Mum raised four kids as a single Mum. She worked full-time as a social worker in a residential home, juggling school runs and night shifts and studying, so she could be promoted into a management role.

To say I consider myself lucky to have landed with such a great Mum is a pretty mammoth understatement. My Mum gave me a safe, permanent home – and that’s no small thing when you’re fostered, let me tell you. She supported me through growing up, and university, and buying my first flat, and divorcing my husband, and becoming a Mum myself. 

We don’t always agree on everything, but she’s the person I’m most likely to call when I’m unsure about anything. I know she’ll give me advice that comes from a place of kindness and integrity. Truly, she’s my Mum in a million. Let’s hope she likes the present – thanks to Photobox for gifting it to us.