Mommy Dearest

When I was a small child, my mom shared her love of films with me, as often as she could.

She taught me the words to the songs in her favourite musicals and so we sang along to the verses in My Fair Lady, Grease, The sound of Music and her favourite, Mary Poppins, with gusto!

We danced around the living room with the casts of Fame, Footloose and Saturday Night Fever. We even danced and sang along to the ads...

I can still see my mum wiggling away to the Umbongo advert now.

We watched autobiographical weepies of parents separated from their children through illness or conflict and love stories where nothing was insurmountable in the quest for true love.

We watched, in awe, the special effects of the blockbuster movies like Jurassic Park, cuddled up for family movies like ‘Honey, I Shrunk The Kid’, that made us laugh and saw fantasy tales like The Neverending Story that stretched the limits of our imagination.

One Mother’sDay, my mom showed me the film Mommie Dearest, starring Faye Dunnaway in the title role: It was a film that would stay with me for a long time.

Faye scared me silly as a cruel mother, taking out her frustrations at her own miserable life on one of her poor children, Christina. I remember not being able to understand: Moms didn’t act like that!

My mom has dedicated her life to making sure her children are happy, before anything else. She repeatedly puts herself at the back of the queue for everything. She goes out of her way, above and beyond, to the ends of the earth for her children; I feel so lucky to be one of them.

When my mom discovered a lump in her breast, she went about getting her breast cancer diagnosis without telling a soul, so as not to be a worry or a burden. When it was confirmed, she took us all away for one last holiday in case she couldn’t beat it.

She made it through the treatment, thankfully; all the while continuing to work and look after her family without complaint and with so much grace. She’s inspirational.

My mom could’ve taught Faye’s character a thing or two!

It’s not difficult to see where it comes from either. Quite simply, my Nan was an awesome Nan, a woman who inspired my mom to become the strong superhero I have in my life today.

We lost my Nan to a stroke last year, my mom was devastated and still is. The fact that she was, and continues to be there for us kids while we grieve the loss of my Nan, is so typical of her. She tries so hard to cheer us up!

She comes from a family that teases each other all the time, good naturally. My grandad will make you a cuppa, but will hold onto the handle for a little too long when he passes you the cup, burning your fingertips or he’ll grab your knee cap and give it a squeeze on his way past, his mischievous grin lighting up the room!

I grew up with this larking about being the norm and so, sometime after watching the film, Mommie Dearest, I addressed the first of many cards for Mother’s days, birthdays, (any excuse really), to my Mommy Dearest.

I remember not being sure how she’d take it, especially as my husband was always joking around about what an awful mother-in-law she was. I was wrong to have worried.

To this day, it always makes her smile, knowing she was nothing like Faye’s character. She was the kind of mother that made sure I had a childhood rich in experiences and education.

I think the day I forget to do it, might actually make her question if she’s upset me!

So I will continue to call her this, even when I catch her reviving the Umbongo wiggle in the kitchen, when no one’s watching.

Thanks mom, for being my Mommy Dearest xxx