It was several years ago, but I recall it vividly.

It was Mother’s Day. A friend arrived at my home, handing me a little gift – a badge on which was printed: “World’s Best Mum.” Thanking him profusely, expressing how much this small gesture meant, he proceeded to cut me down immediately with the words, “Well, I know you’re not really a mother but…”

I missed the rest because it was as though he’d just pierced my heart. That may sound melodramatic, I know, but that’s the impact it had.

Spare a thought for those women who don’t get to be a mother.

As a mother without a child, acknowledgement means so much, as any mother who’s lost her only........

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