Our mums know best for us all

During this current coronavirus crisis – honestly I can hardly believe that we are living in 2020 and not the Dark Ages – we have to keep our social distance from even our loved ones, far less go along and mix in a pub, cafe or restaurant.

But it doesn’t mean that we cannot take time to show our mums how much we care and appreciate all they do for us – I hope Emma and Gary are paying attention!

I read one of those polls recently that always seem to pop up around these times which revealed that mums are “top influencers” in Scots’ lives.

Really? And they needed a poll to tell us that.

I’ll be honest, there are occasions, okay several occasions when my mother drives me daft ... but I know that I’m very fortunate to still have her around and don’t want to contemplate the day when she isn’t making phone calls at inopportune moments or turning up on my doorstep when I have other plans.

It seems, according to this data, that almost a quarter of Scots aspire to follow in their mum’s footsteps.

Now I’m not sure if that means go down the same career path, have the same number of children or what. But I do know that more and more I find myself saying words and phrases just like mum did many years before!

How often has something come out of my mouth and I’ve cringed because I sound exactly like mother ... and I always vowed I wouldn’t say those same things to my children. Now I find myself saying them to my grandchildren!

Another nugget gleaned from this data is that the average age Scots feel closest to their mums is 22.

I would probably disagree, particularly now that women are having their families later. It was when I was having my children that mum and I probably bonded the most during my adulthood.

As a stroppy teen, I’m afraid that I was, it was always my dad who I could wind round my little finger whereas mum was the one saying “you’re wearing too much make-up”, “that skirt is too short” and “you came in far too late last night”.

Then as a young adult of course I knew it all!

Perhaps if I had listened to her then I wouldn’t have walked down the aisle with the wrong man ...

But one thing that I do agree with the findings over is mum inspiring me to follow my dreams and be ambitious which about 40 per cent and 32 per cent of Scots said their mothers did for them.

Perhaps I’ve not done everything that, as a zealous 20-something, I had plans for but I’ve raised two great children (even if I do say so myself), I’ve achieved things at work that a female of my mum’s generation wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do and, most importantly, I’m happy 99 per cent of the time.

So mother did know best when she told me to reach for the stars and ensure that I did whatever made me happy.

Happy Mother’s Day to mums everywhere.