Leeds reflections on Mums and being a mum

Ahead of Mother’s Day, Leeds passers-by reflect on their mums and how they have shaped their lives.

Transcript

00:00My mum's name is Polly, she'll be 100 years old in October, she lives in Sydney, Australia.

00:10She does remarkably well for her age.

00:13She lives alone, does her own shopping, goes for a walk every day.

00:20I visited her in September and we went out and about all the time.

00:25She was fit and healthy, she's remarkable.

00:29It's a bit bittersweet for me because I lost my mother when I was very, very young.

00:36But I think about I have a daughter and I think about her, we lost her mum as well.

00:41So yeah, you know, it's okay, I know for a lot of people it's a special day.

00:48And I suppose for me, you know, I have memories, but yeah, a bit bittersweet.

00:55I speak with my mummy often every day, ever since I moved to the UK, because before moving

00:59to the UK from Nigeria, I was living with her.

01:02So I didn't have need to be calling her on the phone, like I have to now.

01:06And I want to say a special shout out to my mummy, not because she is my mum, but she

01:11has made a lot of sacrifice in my life, right from our childhood, she had to pass her own

01:17academic for our own sake, because we were little kids and she just couldn't combine

01:22studying.

01:23Good day to reflect on my mother.

01:26She was a great person, she passed away sadly four years ago.

01:30However, she would be proud of my son now, as I am, walking around and helping others

01:37enjoy the beautiful days that we have on this planet in Leeds.

01:41Just always being there for your family and your daughter.

01:44I think one thing that really stood out to me is when my grandmother was passing away,

01:48she was always there, no matter what, always by his side.

01:52And he had dementia, sadly, but she would never leave him.

01:56And now she's got into caring herself, because she cared for my grandmother so much.

02:01She was like, I don't want anyone else to go through that, I don't want to have family

02:03around her.

02:04So she's a mum to so many other people as well, and I think that's such a lovely thing.

02:09I'm really grateful for my mother for all the things that she has done to me.

02:14And I can't be more grateful for that.

02:18I love you, mummy.

02:19I love you so much.

02:21And you mean everything to me.

02:23And everything that I'm doing in my life, just because of you, just to make you proud.

02:27My mum was Freya, she was born in Peru, but she grew up in Buenos Aires, which is why

02:34my last name is incredibly long in Italian.

02:38But she was the one that taught me how to dance.

02:41She was the one that got me into like stargazing and incense burning.

02:46It's so easy.

02:47Go to work, raise the children, do my studies.

02:51But I'm grateful I won't have it any other way, because the children are also supportive

02:55and they are becoming of age and learning to do some things on their own, gaining their

02:58own independence.