Happy Mother's Day (in the UK)!

While a surprise breakfast is being prepared for me and I'm enjoying a glass of champagne laced with orange juice, I thought I'd post my (random) thoughts on motherhood.

Now I've written that, it hardly seems a topic that could be covered in a blog post. But here goes.

In the Sunday Times today, there's an excellent piece by India Knight on how, in her view, too many modern mothers are best friends with their off-spring (daughters in particular), and not the laying-down-the-law kind of mothers of her childhood.

Putting the complicated relationship between mother and daughter aside, I do agree with India Knight and think that a parent should be a parent. We should not worry about popularity when trying to bring up our children. There should be no excuses for saying no, or for making rules, or for setting limits to children's behaviour.

I remember when I fell pregnant we said what so many people say to their childless friends, 'Having a baby isn't going to change our lives.' How naive we were.

Now I cannot imagine life without my wonderful children, and I feel very lucky.

I only wish I could celebrate Mother's Day with my mother - but alas she is in Finland where this special day isn't until May. Many a time I've forgotten to get her a card when they are still in the shops and had to send some unfortunate shop assistant to the store room two months later to dig out any left-over ones from March. I also have to admit to having once or twice forgotten about Finnish mother's day all together. Luckily being my mother, she has always forgiven me (in time). But I do sometimes wish the EU would co-ordinate important days like this - they seem to be so keen on standardising everything else.

But, back to my breakfast - look what my daughter, freshly back from uni, served up!

Blueberry pancakes, crispy pancetta and strawberries with lashings of maple syrup.

I think I might need a little lie down now...