Mother’s Boy

My Mum got a shock with me, a child she didn’t know she was carrying, until I was born. See, I was a surprise to the world, one day my existence suddenly happened, an announcement to everyone that i’d arrived, and I don’t feel I’ve changed since that day, just grown bigger, older, wiser… but just as ridiculous and unexpected nonetheless.

I imagine for my mum life changed very quickly after that, as her whole schedule suddenly had to revolve around this tiny, vulnerable little creature who would need to be nurtured, loved and raised, and my mum went above and beyond to teach me, inspire me, care for me and love me, which she absolutely did, she went above and beyond.

I used to raise hell as a child, bouncing off the furniture, walls, and occasionally the ceiling, I was full of energy and intrigue. The sheer fact my mum managed to keep me under control without buying one of those baby leashes is a miracle in itself, but as I grew, and became more cognizant of the world I existed in, she encouraged that energy, and fuelled my creativity.

As I grew older, my mum taught me I could be anything I wanted to be, and I had my various disguises that I cherished, escaping to my own world within these characters, creating games with nothing but my imagination, I had the world dancing to my tune.

She used to read to me on a nighttime, stirring up a passion for reading and writing which still resides in me today! She read me stories of magic, adventures, mystery and full of happy endings. Until eventually, I was reading books to her, unaware how much those stories would shape me.

I was always rowdy growing up, and as I went through the years at school, I began to find myself distracted in lessons, bored of the slow pace of the lessons, that I usually already had the answers to, my mum had always interacted with me, challenged me to think, to search and explore, and so my inquisitive nature followed me into education, which sometimes lead to trouble!

I have always kept close friends, my mum taught me the values of friendship, caring for others, being thoughtful and empathetic, understanding that everyone is on their own frequency, which meant I had a tight knit circle of friends through school, and that I understood what real friendship meant.

My mum is a selfless woman, which as a child is often hard to comprehend that sacrifices are being made for you. Unaware of money and the value of time itself, the countless acts of selflessness my mum showed really only began to resonate with me as I matured, realising the lengths that she has gone for me is honestly a daunting and humbling feeling, that someone can care that deeply to do all of those things for you, without a second thought, really does show the depths to which mothers love.

Most of all, I cherish all the time I get to spend with my mum, she’s supported me from being a little monster to a much bigger one, a creative monster who wants to scribble on everything, she’s raised me to be a man who I would like to think is kind, warm and thoughtful, who is young at heart but still wise to the world, she’s raised me to love and to know love, but most importantly, she’s raised me to be free, a boy who ran away with the circus, who travelled the world seeking his dreams, who still comes home to his mum.