Mum of two Sarah Turner runs successful – and seriously no filter – parenting blog Unmumsy Mum, and recently opened up to HELLO! about how she approached Mother’s Day with her two gorgeous sons. However the day is tinged with sadness as Sarah lost her beloved mum when she was just 15.
Here, Sarah shares the impact that losing her mum has had, and why the blogger thinks she would have wholeheartedly approved of her message to share the good days and bad with her amazing community of fellow mums.
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What are your feelings as we approach Mother’s Day?
"On the one hand it’s a nice day with my boys, but it’s always tinged with a little bit of sadness on my side because I lost my own mum when I was a teenager. Every day’s a hard day when you’ve lost someone you love, but when there’s a day plastered on banners and adverts to show your mum she’s really special, you can’t get away from it. It’s a hard day, but probably easier now at least I have a purpose in that day, because I’m no longer just somebody’s child, I’m a mother myself so I have a role in Mother’s Day now."
Sarah opened up about Mother's Day
How did your loss affect you when you became a mum yourself?
"All those questions you have, like what was I like as a baby, are there parallels between what me and my sister were like and what my boys are like, and they will remain understand. And just that support network of having someone who’ll pick up the phone at any hour. I’ve got lots of good friends and family, but there’s nobody quite like your mum when you want to say, actually I’m really struggling, can you help? I do often wonder if I would have perhaps found motherhood a little bit easier if I’d had that on-going support, but I have a suspicion I wouldn’t have found it any easier because it’s just hard work! But it’s always sad not to have your own maternal figure. And I feel sad for the boys, because they don’t have their nanny. Their grandparents are absolutely amazing, but it’s not my mother."
Does your loss impact the way you parent?
"Before I had children I thought I’d be one of those people that would cherish every moment, live laugh love, because you never know what’s round the corner. The reality is that having kids is just such hard work that I have good days and bad days like everybody else!
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"However in the back of my mind that I know I do appreciate that life’s too short. You never know what’s round the corner and you should try and cherish the moments when you can, but also you should share when you’re not to promote that feeling of solidarity. I think my mum would’ve approved of that ethos as well."