Mother’s Day 2020 won’t be like any other. Everything is uncertain at the moment, but we wanted to take this chance to shine a light on the positive impact of our mother’s and all the amazing work mothers do every day.
My own mam is one of those ladies who gets up at the crack of dawn and won’t rest until she’s done all she can for the day, and usually for other people. She’s brimming with kindness and still more concerned about my brothers and my wellbeing over her own, which I’m sure many of you will relate to and find comforting while social distancing or isolating.
There’s always hope and someone out there looking out for you – whether that’s your actual mother or someone who acts like a mother figure to you.
Thank you to the ladies of Cpl for contributing and I hope these mother’s day anecdotes bring a little bit of positivity to your day.
Judith Moffett, Director Cpl Group, shares the lessons her mother and her own children have taught her
We are guardians to our children, in so many ways they are far wiser than they are given credit for. To quote, the Little Prince, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Children know this innately and often as adults we can forget what is really important.
My children have taught me far more than I can ever teach them. The pure joy of innocence and how they accept the present moment and enjoy it for what it is – not trying to cling onto it, video it or make more of it. Just pure acceptance.
I think the most important thing a child or adult (we are all five years olds on the inside) can know is to be true to their own heart and don’t make choices based on external pressures.
My own mother is an ocean of calm and a voice of reason. She is creative, artistic, open-minded and has the purest heart. She let me be myself growing up – she never tried to influence any of my choices, but she has always been there to listen to me and offer me gentle advise.
She is so young at heart, with a real open-minded intellect and philosophy. She doesn’t see this in herself though and she is the humblest and most gentle soul you could meet. We adore her. My mother taught me that having a hot temper doesn’t get you anywhere!
Edel Murphy, EA to Cpl CEO, on how her mother inspires her
My mum is my biggest inspiration. She has worked hard all her life and never misses a day’s work (I am almost 13 years in Cpl I have never had a sick day, so I clearly get that from her). She is 75 and still works two full days a week in Brown Thomas as well as minding my children two days a week.
She has a great passion for life and lives each day to the fullest, she is normally the last one standing at parties. She taught me to love deeply, always see the best in people and to always be respectful of others, especially our elders.
Cpl Client Services Director Siobhan O’Shea shares how her mother inspires her & the lessons she has taught her to pass on to her children
My mother Carmel is a powerhouse. When she was just 28 my father got cancer. After a gruelling 4-year battle he passed away, so at 32 she was left to raise 4 kids by herself. All of us under the age of 10. Which she did with incredible spirit and courage!
Throughout it all she continued to work as a teacher, job sharing with her best friend long before anyone was embracing new ways of working. She is hugely passionate about her family, wide circle of friends, golf (as current Lady President of the Kilkenny golf club) and politics, a loyal lifetime Fine Gael supporter & canvasser!
She always instilled a love of travel, adventure and ambition in us and thanks to her foresight in securing me a green card I had the opportunity to live in New York in my twenties. Now in her next chapter she is a proud participant in the gig economy as an Airbnb hostess and takes great pride in her fabulous ratings. Not surprising to us as she loves to chat to all her visitors about their lives, culture and Kilkenny.
There are many things that inspire me about my mother however at this moment in time many of my mother’s lovely qualities will be important to all of us as we navigate this Covid19 craziness, and qualities I try to emulate as a mum myself.
Those qualities are her amazing resilience, curiosity, sense of humour and most important of all kindness. Special qualities that will be so vital for the weeks and months ahead.
Bernadette Byrne, Office & Reception Team Lead at Cpl, on the lessons her mother Betty has instilled in her
My mam (76) only retired last August after working for the past 35 years in St Michael’s Secondary School. I can count on one hand in all that time she missed work and I can honestly say she was the hardest working woman I know.
After my dad died 20 years ago, her job was her lifeline. It gave her a purpose when myself and my two sisters were starting to fly the nest. She instilled the importance of getting out to work in us, being independent and never pulling a sickie unless it was genuine!
She had a major operation two weeks ago and because of the unfortunate circumstances we are living in we haven’t been able to visit her. She is doing well, and her strength of character and sense of humour will no doubt get her through this.
This Mother’s Day will be a strange one but one we will celebrate soon. Looking forward to the day when we can hug our Betty again. She’s a legend.
Lisa Broderick, Cpl Cork, on how her mother inspires her
My Mum has the spirit of a twenty-year-old. She’s the core of our family and would bend over backwards for any one of us. She’s full of energy and always has a smile on her face. A farmer’s daughter with a real entrepreneurial streak, a strong work ethic and by god that glass is always half full.
Mum ran a pre-school that she built onto our house when we were younger to work around our school hours. She had great work/life balance and she’s a fantastic Mum/Mother in Law/Granny and is still great fun. Our friends, cousins, neighbours… everyone used to congregate at ours when we were kids because she’d let us do things other parents would balk at, like have massive water fights in the garden, which she’d be the instigator of.
It’s no different now. In her 60’s she’s out cycling every morning and thinking up her next hair-brained scheme. You’ll still find her running around with her grandkids any chance she gets and they love her to bits. She’s a terrible cook (thankfully my Dad’s handy in the kitchen) but a great baker and there’s always that lovely smell of homemade bread and scones in the oven.
Mum instilled positivity and a sense of adventure in all of us, although I suspect she regretted that when we were off in the four corners of the world and she wanted us to come home. Mum taught me to value myself, think outside the box and to paddle my own canoe.
She showed me how to run a business and be resourceful. Most of all she taught me to be kind, showed me that life is for living and made me believe that anything is possible.
Vanessa McKay, Cpl Office Support on her mother’s resilience and dedication
My mother is from Long Island New York. She met my Dad in the early 70’s when he overstayed his Visa with a group of friends. It was a bit of a whirlwind and they were married within 1.5yrs of knowing each other and they relocated to Ireland.
She worked for CBS records in New York and was lucky to secure a secretarial role with the Irish office when she arrived. By her own admission she was delighted to give up work when she became pregnant with her first child and went on to have four more children. Five under the age of seven!
I have a lot of memories of her always cooking, cleaning and washing clothes when I was younger. She gave so much of herself to give to her family and I admire her greatly for this. She would never think it of herself, but she is so resilient and always made the best of every situation.
She was and is a big believer in working hard to give yourself a good life and as a woman who had four daughters, she felt strongly about having your own independence and instilled this in all her children. She taught me to have a strong work ethic and my own independence and these are things I hope to pass on to my own children. Thanks Mom!
Sarah Fetherstonhaugh, Cpl Northern Ireland, on the lessons she’s learnt from her mother
As a mum now myself, the main thing that I think about with my own mother is my memories of her balancing working while looking after us.
At a time where traditional gender roles were very much in place, and most of the responsibilities with us 3 kids and the house were her domain, she was ahead of her time in terms of flexible working. She would pick me up from school and have the work phones transferred through to our home landline for the rest of the working day.
She had the balance between work and home life down, and despite spinning all these plates she supported all of us, including my dad.
A true facilitator and enabling presence in our lives. She is a testament to how key and important those seemingly quiet support roles in the background really are.
Libby Kelly, Cpl Technology, on the lessons she’s learnt as a mother
Having gone through some very difficult parenting moments over the years my perspective on life lessons has changed a little on what matters in the grand scheme and what doesn’t.
The big one for me is that challenges make you stronger, kinder and more accepting of those around you. Look to the silver lining wherever and whenever possible and take the positive from it, no matter how small that may be.
For example, right now in these challenging days, my biggest silver lining is this time with my kids that I normally wouldn’t get during the week. Possessions don’t matter, moments and experiences with your loved ones are so much more important.
I’ve learnt to try to keep going and don’t give up easily – my eldest child has a lot of challenges physically and through positive re-enforcement, I am pushing him to not accept the first failure as the way it will be for him. He will have to try harder than a lot of those around him and needs to push himself more as a result
Overall being a mother has taught me to try not to care so much what others think of you, what you think of yourself is the most important opinion. And finally, my mantra with my kids is “no matter what.” So no matter what happens to them, or what they do or don’t do, I am there for them. It’s about loving without condition.