Dear Mum,

Thank you for instilling a strong sense of direction and purpose in my heart. Thank you for telling me to reach for the moon, so I can land among the stars. Thank you for being a role model of hard work, diligence and love. Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for comforting me. Thank you for your patience.

I give any moment to celebrate you. Mother’s Day is becoming a painful scratch on my heart already, but International Women’s Day is not a reminder of who I have lost, but an echo of you and your teachings. International Women’s Day is a chance to celebrate the strong minded, stubborn woman who brought me into the world, and helped me to see a whole life of opportunity.

You taught me the importance of bringing others up. You carefully constructed a framework for me to look after myself from which I have become the woman I am today.

I am so grateful and indebted to you. All I can do is try to be a fraction of your kindness, strength and courage.

Here’s to you and the generations of women that came before you. Each one building a better future for those after her.

Evee x

For those of us who have lost vibrant, courageous women, I hope this day is a little reminder that we can still celebrate them. They are all around us, and they are in you 🤍