Being a good mum is a heroic achievement, whoever you are

October days are at an end, And so you just might meet, A witch, a ghost or Superman, Walking down your street; Happy laughing children, Chanting “trick or treat”, Pumpkin lanterns all aglow,

As Halloween we greet.

Itold her I was in awe. I told her I thought she was doing heroic work. She was confused. “I’m just being a good mum,” she explained. “I never was before, but now I am doing my best. And I’m seeing the difference in my children.”

She has a history of abuse and addiction, followed by a series of disastrous relationships.

But, that’s all history now and, with the help of social services she made a new start. Now she is seeing first-hand the wonder of normal behaviours and healthy parent-child relationships.

The fact that she has overcome her past is pretty amazing. It’s more than many could do.

But, no, that wasn’t where my admiration was focused. Being a good mum is an awesome and heroic thing all by itself – however long it takes to get there and however rough the road might have been. On what was, apparently, International Day Of The Girl recently, I saw Matthew with his four-year-old daughter in the supermarket.

Little Leanna was pushing a childsized trolley.

“Reinforcing gender stereotypes, are we?” I teased.

“Quite the opposite,” Matthew said, with a smile.

“She only ever sees me doing the shopping, so she probably thinks it’s ‘man’s work’.

“Right now, her ambitions are to be a paramedic, a firefighter or a superhero.

“I’m just letting her know that being a homemaker is also an option.”

There are all kinds of stereotypes and all sorts of ways of challenging them.

Let’s make sure nothing is out of bounds for the child who is willing to chase their dream – whether that dream is saving the world or going shopping! “Why would she do that? Why would she do that?”

Ronnie had driven for hours to deliver his son to a rehab centre.

When he got back home there was a message from the rehab, saying his son had walked out of the door.

“He was alone, in a strange city, with no money and no friends.

“But a woman he met in a shop, talked to him and then paid for a taxi to take him to a homeless shelter.

“So, he had a bed for the night!”

And, in the morning, he was back at the rehab.

But Ronnie couldn’t get over the fact that a woman whose name he will never know helped his son when he couldn’t.

Why would she do that?

Because, Ronnie, despite all the stories to the contrary – people are wonderful!