Editorial

Mums Are Amazing

Read the entries to our Mother's Day Competition. Warning: Tissues may be required.

We asked you to tell us the nicest thing your mum ever did for you. Your answers to our Mother's Day Competition to win a gorgeous bouquet of roses every month for a year were so touching we just had to share them. Mums everywhere, you are truly amazing.

****Congratulations to our winning entrant Pete Aighton from Devon, with no small thanks to his superstar mum.  Pete's mum drove 250 miles to deliver her life saving soup to his bedside when he had "man-flu". Brilliant!

Now we've just got to get our hands on that recipe. Well done Pete!****
 

"My mum has always a warm welcome when I visit with my family. She is 84 and she will still do shopping and make a meal and make tea for us when we arrive. She will show me where the washed and dried bedding is and she always tidies the kitchen before going to bed. I love my mum dearly and I hope that I am able to be so nice and hospitable at that age!!!"

PS

"Completely redecorated our bedroom whilst hubby and I were on our honeymoon."

CW

"There's not one thing in particular that my mum has done for me, but looking after me when I've been ill comes very high on the list. Since becoming a mum myself, I now appreciate everything my mum has ever done for me!"

FB

"how can i name one thing, she has always been there, she has been an amazing role model all my life."

AB

"If I do something my mum doesn't agree with and it goes wrong, she just makes sure I'm okay and doesn't say I told you so. To me that's one of the nicest things someone can do!"

CR

"I arranged to have a home pampering team turn up at my mum's home,She loved it considering she is 82 years old,She has re-booked it again for her & her sister my aunt! for an easter treat, bless goes to show you are never to old for a little girly pampering."

SW

"Been there for me everyday for the last 23 years!"

CC

"Sat up night after night with me through my GCSE & ALevel revision to help meswot up on subjects."

LC

"My Mum gave me the security and confidence to spread my wings and travel the world - as well as helping me out with cash when I was stuck and calling me at 4am when I was in Hong Kong so I didn't miss my flight - she was the only person I trusted to actually do it!"

BW

"Gosh mum has done so much for me and my sister. She brought us up pretty much on her own. She has looked after us both through depression and she still continues to support us even though we are 30 and 27. Just got back from a wonderful trip to Disneyland Paris which she paid for to get away and for my niece to have fun. So she is pretty amazing!"

ES

"The nicest thing my mum has has given me is the gift of true unconditional - unlimited - undefined and endless loving true blooded friendship. I have no other friends like her.... no one else would ever be able or ever want to do the things for me that my mother has done."

AH

"I recently suffered a massive job loss, and i have ended up on benifits living day to day not knowing what comes next. and a few weeks ago i found my self under fire from a debt company i never even knew existed. my mum stepped up to the mark and challenaged this company. she spent alot of time fixing it. turns out a nasty ex signed for stuff in my name. but without my mum i would prob still be in the mess with no way out. thanks mum :D love you"

JT

"The nicest thing my mum ever did for me was fight to stay alive for as long as she could because she didn't want to leave her little girl without a Mummy. Sadly her cancer was to much for her and she lost her fight on my 7th birthday. Some people think it's sad that I lost her on my birthday at such a young age, but I know that really she should of gone alot sooner and she had to fight for every extra day she gave us...so thanks Mum xx"

CW

"She sat with me every day in the Special Care Baby Unit until my premature daughter (2lb 140z) was big enough to come home."

GW

"My mother learnt to text on her phone when I went away to university, so that she could say good morning without waking me up! :-)"

CK

"To raise me without even giving me an inkling how ill she was at the time."

DE

"Brought me up to be the person i am today is the best thing my mum has ever done for me."

PH

"The nicest thing my mum has ever done is be there for myself and my husband and my daughter,when our son was born 14 weeks prem and was in neonatal unit for 15 weeks!!! She was there for all of us,through the tears and smiles."

TF

"My mum has my children every weekend so that I can go to work - in fact, gave up work herself when my children were born so she could have them when I went back to work 3 days a week."

CP

"NOT reading the extremely rude text message I accidentally sent to her instead of my boyfriend when we first got together (or at least I hope she didn't)"

FH

"My Mum gave me £50,000 to put towards a house."

BS

"My mum was there to hold my hand when I gave birth to my son, and stayed around for a month sharing the middle-of-the-night waking duties."

E Mc G

"One of the nicest things my Mum has ever done for me is jump out of bed in the early hours when she received a phone call to say my waters had broken and then stayed with me during my Homebirth. Shes a fab Mum, always there when I need her!"

TB

"My mum hand made my wedding shrug after trawling the shops for the exact shade of cream I wanted not that I was a bridezilla of course :)"

JH

"Looked after my children when I was ill."

KM

"My first Mum made sure that during her lifetime I was always guaranteed at least one valentine card every year. My second Mum gave me so much love and understanding that I was often mistaken for her natural born daughter. They both spoiled me without spoiling me and they will both stay in my heart for ever."

TM

"Stuck by me through tough times at school and college."

DH

"My mum has always allowed me to be myself."

PD

"Unconditionally always there!"

JG

"My mum always does her best for me and is never disapproving of anything I do, even if she doesn't agree!"

DH

"she taught me how to drive and brought me a car!"

NJ

"The nicest ting my mum has ever done is everything, if i could be half as good as her i would be the most gratefull person in the world. I will tell you just one of the amazing things she had done, she visited a very poor country where all the homeless were driven out and dumped in the middle of nowhere (long time ago) and when she was there volunteering she saw them eating just grass and very sick and one man came up to her and was in so much pain he had a huge wound on his body and my mum helped him and got a doctor and she said "there was no shame in him showing me where it was" the doctor who treated him said she should be a foreign aid doctor. one friends said your to old to train to be a medic and she listened but she said she has alway regretted it and that has inspired me to never give up. also another time she was looking after people with out homes for christmas so she and a friend rented a van and went around everywhere and just invited loads of people and had 10 turkeys and lots of food she is amazing! i think i told more than two but i could go on and on! all the things she has done for other people i just want to give a little something back. thank you."

S

"I nicest thing my mum ever did for me was giving birth to me. I am so grateful for everything she has done in raising me and in my life. She truly is one in a million and I love her so much."

VS

"Bought me a brand new camera to take on a trip when I was 11, even though I was just expecting a disposable one!"

AS

"Mum was there for me when my marriage broke up and she got me back on my feet again"

ID

"Always put me and my brothers first."

CW

"always having the time to listen."

J O'N

"Overlook my atrocius choice in boyfriends with a wry smile."

LB

"She takes me to the hospital every week, rain or shine. She helps me out all the time now Ican't do everything for myself and never complains."

NH

"The nicest thing my mum has done for me is to pay for the rewiring of my new house."

MB

"The nicest thing my mum ever did for me was attend the birth of my second child after my husband past out whilst I was in labour. She really calmed me down, as only a mum could."

PC

"The nicest thing my mum ever did was drive down to my pregnant sister in the middle of the night, a 6 hour drive to Cornwall even though she was supposed to be at work! She was exhausted but there to comfort my sister in her time of need."

SB

"Oh my goodness, there's no one particular thing. Mum suffers from MS, she can barely walk and spends a lot of time in a wheelchair, yet she stays incredibly positive, she is the strongest person I know. If there was one particular thing she has done for us it's to lead us by example - never give up!!!"

RK

"The best thing my mother ever did for me was to give birth to me - because none of the wonderful things she has done since would have mattered if she hadn't done that. "

JW

"Helped me buy my first house"

WS

"Other than having me in the first place (you cant really get much nicer than that!), it's the support and friendship she gave to me when I left college and started my accountancy exams. She was there for me the nights I was up studying and always ready to go out partying when I needed a break. My Mum was also the nest friend I could ever have had and I love her to bits, I'm so pleased she found my step-dad and is happy now that I have my own life too!"

KA

"The nicest thing my Mum has done was to look after me and my daughter when I was rushed to hospital. My husband was away and Mum stepped into the breech, she was amazing especially as I was very scared!"

LS

"My mum lives across the other wide of the world, but I know she is always there for me. She is going to be a grandmother this year and I am so happy for her!"

LC

"She made my wedding dress, even though she hated sewing and wasn't too keen on my husband-to-be. Even better, she didn't say "I told you so" when we broke up, just supplied the hugs and the tissues."

DC

"My Mum does lovely things for me all the time..too many to mention. She minds my two small children so I could return to work as I couldn't afford childcare otherwise. She has helped us renovate our new house and teach us new skills on the way. Please let me win this for her to show her in if only a small way how much we love her! x"

LA

"She gave up work and found a new job working from home to be there for us."

ED-R

"My mum is always there to support me no matter what, through the good times and the bad. She's the best!"

LR

"My mum does nice things for me everyday. I couldn't single out just one!"

GH

"The nicest thing my Mum did for me was pay off the last £50 of my student loan as a surprise for me - making me debt free! (That was a long time ago)"

LV

"My Mum let me and my son live with her for six months when we were made homeless when he was a baby, she helped me find my own home again and helped me decorate and furnish it. It is something that I will always be grateful for."

ML

"Over Christmas when I was really ill but still having to work she came round whilst I was at work, tidied the entire house and just left a note saying 'Merry Christmas from the Cleaning Fairy', it made my day xx"

VN

"My mum, Mary, has been an absolute tower of strength for me all my life but even more so after she was diagnosed with cancer. You would expect it to be the other way around! She has smiled through the pain and the aggressive chemo & radiotherapy and continues to fight to survive every step of the way. Her love, support, encouragement, loyalty, strength and casseroles though the years have never failed and she made me the person I am today. Mum has always been an inspiration, a best friend as well as a mother and she deserves beautiful roses all year round. I love my mum! Thanks for reading about my mum. OK, my fingers are crossed!"

AD'S

"Just a few years ago i was away for the weekend on a training course. When i got back home my overgrown and messy garden had been completely renovated. As a surprise my mum had worked really hard clearing it and cutting for me. I was so happy that i could actually enjoy my garden instead of avoiding it. The best surprise was as the weeks went by and it started to really bloom. She hadn't told me about all the beautiful flowers she had planted. It was glorious and the colours looked amazing!"

AD

"The nicest thing my mum has done for me is putting up with me and supporting me through university, because I couldn't have done it without her both emotionally and financially. At the same time she's had to cope with another family members mental illness which puts so much strain on her, yet she still has the patience of a saint (and I know that's a cliche!). She really deserves something nice to come her way."

LMG

"Just one of the loveliest things my Mum has done is make me an album of all the old family photographs, with names and dates so we have a keepsake to add to and pass on to further generations. Brilliant!"

SW

"My Mum drove all the way from Coventry to Hampshire to bring me a home made birthday cake when I was a bit homesick at Uni. She is the absolute best Mum ever (promise)!"

PS

"My mum saved my life sacrificing hers."

S

"She gave up a holiday to help me with my children when I took ill."

TR

"The best thing my mother has done for me is always being there for me. She is my best friend and soul mate. I can rely on her no matter what. She is simply perfect!"

MS

"My mum was with me when my son was born and kept me calm and took care of me the whole time - only thing is she didn't say 'It's a boy', she said 'It's a grandson'. Lol."

LB

"The nicest thing my mum ever did for me was just being my mum, as she was wonderful always."

AT

"Pay my fare to Japan so I could work there for a year when she would much rather I'd stayed nearer home!"

FC

"She looked after my household whilst i was seriously ill in hospital, whilst ferrying my son to see me twice a day, and all this whilst nursing my terminally ill father."

TQ

"Nicest thing - drove 250 miles to bring me my favourite soup when suffering with man flu!"

PA

"For my birthday one year, she made a photo album with pics from my birth to the present day, and in the back was some certificates and achievements that i had got as a child (a few which I had forgotten!)."

SG

"Nicest thing my mum has done for me is a massive basket of ironing!"

AC

"One Christmas my mom bought me a gift with a recordable message. My Mom and Dad sang 'We wish you a Merry Christmas', I loved it. Unfortunately my lovely Dad passed away in 2008 but I still have the tape. It is such a joy to still hear his voice."

AB

"Everything! Being a listening ear, a guiding hand and constantly bailing me out of trouble!"

FLE

"The nicest thing my mum has ever done is travel over 100 miles round trip just to give me my lucky football boots when I'd left them at home. I didn't even ask she offered."

MB

"She arranged for me to have the best holiday I have ever had in Italy before my operation. She is always there for me in good times and bad!"

DM

"My mum has always listened to me - no matter how big or small my problem - and given the very best advice!"

KC

"Mom paid for a long holiday to Jamaica to help me recover from depression."

SJ

"My Mum has done many many nice things, but when she tells me how proud she is of me brings tears to my eyes."

AM

"The nicest thing my mum has done for me was in December 2008. I woke up one morning to find out the company I had been working for had filed administration and I had lost the job I loved more than anything. My mum was my rock; being my friend and my mother at this difficult time giving me reassurance and hope that everything would work out for me. I didn't get paid my last wage from the company and my mum didn't want it to wreck my Christmas, so gave my money to buy christmas presents, money to go out over Christmas with my friends so that I could enjoy myself as I was so down. Then she paid for flights I needed to go to London for interviews for new jobs. I don't know how I would have got through that difficult time without her and would love for her to know how much I appreciated her at that time and every single day."

CB

"My Mum treated me to a 5 day holiday in Paris after I was recovering following discharge from hospital five years ago. For a private and shy person, it was a very generous and loving gesture."

EC

"My mum taught me that manners cost nothing but shows courtesy, a smile can travel the world without causing offence and treat everyone how you would like to be treated. This was the nicest thing she could do for me."

JTMcA

"The nicest thing my mother has done for me is just being there for me, my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 2 and without her help and support, don't think i could have coped as well as i did. She is amazing xx"

SA

"My mum is constantly doing nice things for me: thinking of me wherever she goes - picking up things that she knows I need and calling me to check I'm OK when she knows I need it. She picks me up little souvenirs and photos whenever she goes away. She cooks food the way I like it. It is all the little things that she does that are special."

KS

"Even though she's just been made redundant from the school she's worked at for 23 years (she started off as my dinnerlady and worked her way up to work with children with emotional and behavioural problems). She still spends more time worrying about my Dad and I than for herself. She's devastated that she'll no longer be able to work with these children due to budget cuts, yet she still takes time to call every day to see how I'm doing and fret over my upcoming operation. She really is one in a million."

CG

"I became disabled fairly recently, and despite being 77, my mum comes to my house to walk my dog twice a day, in all weathers so that I didn't have to giver her up now I can't walk her myself."

JS

"She worked extra hours for 12 months then she took me on a terrific shopping trip to New York to get my prom dress just to make sure no one else would have anything like mine! I am so lucky."

Rosie

"My Mother always puts me & my family first xx."

NB

"Surprised me with an appointment at an expensive hairdressers that I could not afford to go to when I was feeling low and felt I looked a mess... I came out feeling wonderful! Thanks Mum xx"

AH

"My mum has let me go my own way (despite immense pressure from other family members)."

SM

"My mum, who lives ten miles away, went out and bought me a jar of gherkins. I was pregnant and had an insatiable craving for them AND it was 10pm. My husband was away working at the time. She's wonderful."

MR

"Cooked me a slap up Sunday lunch, even on Mothers Day when I should have been treating her."

KdR

"She stayed up all night making a sparkly angel costume for me (the scruffiest girl in the school) when I was make head angel in the nativity play at junior school."

SP

"Been my best friend always."

RH

"My mum died in 1997, but the nicest thing she ever did for me was teaching me to bake when I was a little girl. We had such fun, and she always let me lick the bowl, which is the best bit!"

CE

"It's hard to pin point anyone thing my mums done for me as being the nicest but I really appreciated it when I started renting a house a few years ago with a very neglected garden. She dug half the plants out off her garden that she'd been growing for decades and came round and helped me plant them in mine."

SA

"The nicest thing my mum has ever done for me: well everything from bringing me to life, helping me during the difficult teenage time, financing my university studies and trips, buying my wedding dress and now, looking after her grand-daughter! She is always there when needed :) and we all love her very much!"

VC

"Made me happy."

AW

"The best thing my mum has ever done for me is given birth! I now know what she went through! Thank you mum!!!"

GP

"I've had a rough time financially the past few years, having been made redundant from my last permanent job and only having intermittent temp jobs to keep me going. My mother has been an absolute rock, supporting me emotionally and recently even financially too. She takes me shopping for good, cheap vegan food - which she often pays for too - and she invites me to go out for lovely trips with her. This in addition to caring for my step-father. She's a total star and I'm incredibly proud of her."

SP

"I can't tell you the nicest thing my mum has ever done for me as she has done too many to remember and is still doing them everyday!"

CS

"She is always there with a smile of understanding, a nod of sympathy and never asks why!"

JE

"She looked after our children for us while we went through 12 weeks training so we could follow our dreams to have our own pub. Without her support we would never have managed to do it."

SB

"The nicest thing my mum has ever done for me is be there for me, anytime, anywhere... she really is the best"

LP

"Cooked my boyfriend & me a lovely romantic meal for 3 on Valentine's Day, with flowers, candles, and a teddy bear and card each! It was delicious and hilarious."

SC

"Every week for a year she drove me 2 hours to uni so I could be home for the weekend - to prevent me from getting home sick."

HS

"Gone without when she was short of cash when we were little to buy us things."

VB

"The nicest thing my mum has done for me is to teach me to be a good mother to my children, to be thoughtful, kind and generous like she is."

JB

"A step-mother who took me on and treated me like a real daughter year after year after year."

TS

"My Mum used to say I looked lovely but looking back a photos I looked a mess."

DF

"Always been there for me!"

MI

"The nicest thing my mum ever did for me was give me life and taught me how to get the most out of it!"

SH

"Just being my Mam is the best thing my Mam has done for me. Through happy and sad times just to know my Mam is there keeps me going, she always seems to say the right things. I love my Mam."

KC

"The nicest thing my Mum ever did for me was to love me unconditionally even (especially) when I didn't deserve to be loved."

AMC

"Put up with everything that I threw at her and still loved me."

BK

"The nicest thing my mum has done for me is driving up every week from Kent to Hertfordshire on a Friday to help me with my new daughter, when I'd just moved there and was very isolated."

AE

"Being there for me when my children where diagnosed with a life threatening illness."

CM

"The nicest thing my mum has ever done for me is support me through my whole life no matter what decisions, or indeed mistakes, I've ever made. In particular, I remember a time where my family didn't even have enough money to spend on chocolate digestives; my mum bought plain biscuits and made a chocolate topping for them so we didn't miss out!"

DG

"My mum has driven all the way to France to pick me up with a broken leg from a skiing trip."

KG

"My Mum has done far too many nice things for me to think of just one!! I think the best thing my Mum has done is be her!! She has been there when I have been having my children, all 4 times. She's the best :D"

JK

"My Mum has taught me how to knit, sew, cook, garden, run a house, and laugh a lot - everything I need to know to live a joyful life!"

RR

"Taken care of me through 30 years of illness."

IA

"The nicest thing my mum does for me is every time I see her, she gives me a big cuddle and tells me she loves me even now I'm a grown woman of 44, its the thing I cherish the most."

SW

"The nicest thing my mum has ever done for me is to adopt, not only me, but all of my (birth) brothers (2) and sister (1) - that's 4 kids, all together. She didn't want to separate us, because we didn't have a good start in life, and she didn't want to cause us any more trauma. She then loved us and gave us all a stable home, with everything a kid could want."

VPC

"Stood by me when i had to leave my violent ex husband."

RB

"My Mum has been a fabulous Nana to my 12 month old baby Samuel. In the last year she has helped babysit, given advice and even cleaned my house when I haven't had time. She's been invaluable to us and me and Sam love her to bits!"

FW

"My Mum has always been there for me."

KR

"My mum is AMAZING! she has beat cancer twice and did so with a smile on her face! (Most of the time!) She truly doesn't realise how special she is! She is a fighter, a wife (to a real life Victor Meldrew), a daughter, a sister and an amazing friend.....but most of all she is a mother - a true mum who puts her kids first every time!! She deserves EVERYTHING!! She's my inspiration!! Love you mum x"

JC

"My mum once used all her savings to help pay for a trip to Barcelona with the school. All my friends were going and I would have really been left out if she hadn't paid for me!"

KC

"I can't even begin to list the nice things my mum has done for me. From little things like buying me things when she's out shopping because she thinks I would like them, to big things like letting me move back in with her when my relationship of 10 years went wrong - rent free. She painted the whole of my new house by herself whilst I was at work to save me a job, she really is fantastic and I don't know what I would do without her."

LW