From The Heart

Being a mother is one of the most influential roles a woman can have, so to mark International Women’s Day this month, we asked four prominent Kiwi women to write open letters to their daughters. The results are profound and loving, and full of wisdom for us all.

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Hello my darlings

Giselle Aviana and Arabella Valentina – they are big names for little people, but your father and I knew you’d grow into them. To us, every day, you are Gigi and Bella. With your big brother Leo, you are my heart.

I always dreamed of being a mother. My brother is eight years younger than me, so I had a lot of practice “mothering” him when we were growing up; driving him to after-school activities when I was 16. I knew that I wanted three children – I’m from a family of three and it’s my lucky number. You’re my little lucky charms!

Becoming a mother was the steepest, sharpest learning curve I’ve ever had. My life was flipped on its head when your brother Leo came along; I was 30, your father and I were newly married. And then suddenly it all started. Someone once said to me that when you have children, you know what it’s like to have your heart running around on the outside of your body. You feel all the pain, all the vulnerability that comes with it. The role of being a mother is something you grow with, you learn the role as you move through it. You have been very good at teaching me how to be your mum along the way, and I’m so grateful for that.