I HAVE never laughed so much, cried so much, worried so much, cared so much, as I have since becoming a Mum.

I am not for a second suggesting that if you don’t have a child that you can’t and don’t experience emotions in the extreme, but for me, certainly, motherhood has brought feelings in Technicolor; concerns and worries in extremis; joy in over-spilling, overwhelming abundance and pride, bucket-loads and crate loads and lorry loads of that.

From ‘The Polka Dot Door’ to ‘Hamptons’ to ‘Ener-chi’ to every pub and restaurant in Penarth we are being reminded, usually in a graphic that features pink flowers, that Sunday March 31 is Mother’s Day, though as a former teacher of mine is quick to remind, in the UK it is Mothering Sunday.

The difference is worth noting - Mothering Sunday is a Christian celebration during Lent, while Mother’s Day is something pioneered first in America and now arguably, a commercialised reason to be charged highly for flowers, chocolates and set-price Sunday dinners.

Regardless of your observance of each, it does seem that celebrating mothers is an excellent opportunity to think, reflect and celebrate those special women to whom we owe our very existence.

Notwithstanding the fact that to be a mother should not be confused with being Mother Earth, a Goddess, a paragon of virtue or superhuman, I know so many people for whom the mother child relationship is fraught with complexity and not always positive.

But, talking from experience, my Mum is as close to being Wonder Woman as any I have met.

This is not to imbue her with ethereal qualities - she has her frailties like any other human - but she has acted selflessly, fought for me, supported me and loved me in a way that has given me a great example with which to parent my own children.

I don’t know anyone that just cracks on with things the way my Mum does.

Through illness, through grief, through being cross at times, she has never faltered in making me feel like her love for me is unwavering, even when she gives a ‘look’ that only she can give.

When I was pregnant with my first child, my line manager at the time said to me that from the moment you have a child you have a permanent Achilles heel.

I now know exactly what he meant.

No matter where I am or what I am doing, my children are on my mind.

Whether that is worrying about something, needing to sort something out or remembering something, from another pack of ‘Match Attack’ cards to what their current favourite yoghurt is when food shopping, they are a constant.

The same for my Mum who rarely visits without bringing random things, like a new frying pan because she spotted on her last visit that mine was losing its’ ‘non-stick’.

Mother Hens, Tiger Mothers, Lionesses, and Matriarchs are all encapsulated in the word Mum and this Sunday, if you can, try to appreciate yours.