Ladies, that seriously cliché saying we’ve all come across on the little Huletts sugar bags, the one that reads: “Women are like tea bags. They don’t know their strength until they are placed in hot water” – thát one, that one is the one you can put away in your purse and read again when you become a mom.

Moms come in all varieties. The skinny fit looking ones, the slightly larger less-fit looking ones, the seemingly always-positive, chatterbox, always on-time ones, the scatterbrains, working moms, stay-at-home moms, older, younger ones, ones with one kid, one with 3 or 4 kids, biological moms, adopted moms, single moms, married ones, breastfeeding ones, non-breastfeeding ones, the ones who gave birth naturally and others who had their little ones cut from their bodies. Moms are everywhere.

I am one of them. To be honest, I never invisioned myself being a mom…I guess I never imagined it possible for me to love somebody more than life itself. Yet – here I am, 17 months into being a mom to the person which I love more than anything I’ve ever loved and possibly ever will.

This exact same love which intimidated the living lights out of me when all my friends started having children, this love that exceeds all others, I believe is rooted in a very special place in a woman’s soul. It is born when her body skilfully and lovingly creates her child, strengthened when she looks into the eyes of her baby and becomes stronger as she grows into a complete new being, slowly ridding herself of what she once was and transforming into one of nature’s most fierce creations. A mother.

Once as free as a butterfly, a mom suddenly finds herself tied to another human being, one which is totally dependent on her and without any doubt loves her more than she could imagine. The commitment to nurture our offspring is as beautiful as it is destructive in a fast paced, superficial, materialistic world. Moms everywhere are experiencing an increasing amount of pressure to be the same woman, colleague or wife they were before they became a mom and simultaneously have the inherent urge to nurture their young with the remaining energy.

But moms you see, moms are beautifully strong things, they grów like trees, casting a cool, protective shadow over their young, a safe place, reaching deeper and deeper with their roots in search of energy, motivation and resources to keep themselves up – aaand on top of all this, stretching their branches wider and higher as they grow in their role.

This strength which is not plainly bestowed on woman with the wave of a wand but is worked for, paid for with blood, sweat and tears (add snot, vomit and poo to this) is best understood by other moms. It is other moms who catch a mom when she stumbles, when she is alone or when her shoulders droop. Moms, even in nature, look out for each other, they cast an eye over young everywhere and they encourage other moms when times are tough.

This mother’s day, check-up on the moms around you, make sure they are doing OK, give a compliment or a hug – you might be the only one who does, or the sincerest atleast.