It's true (and completely normal) to think the world is against us whilst we're growing up but no matter how hard life may get for us, there's always one person who will remain our biggest fan. Mum.
It doesn't matter how tall you grow or how old you get, she will always look at you with pride in her eyes and love in her heart.
However, I'm sure we're all guilty of taking our mums for granted and forgetting to thank her for the many sacrifices she has made to ensure that we live a happy and fulfilled life.
If you're like me and pretty poor at showing appreciation, this may be the article for you. So here are 20 things we commonly forget to thank our mums for.
1. Thank you for giving birth to me - for carrying me for nine stressful months, through the sleepless nights, the morning sickness and everything you had to give up along the way to ensure I was a strong, healthy baby.
2. Thank you for sacrificing your sleep so I could have mine - growing up I have come to realise just how precious sleep is, so thank you for giving up the importance of rest to see to my needs.
3. Thank you for picking me up when I fall down - from the times I would fall over as a kid and cry due to a grazed knee, to the times where I temporarily lose my way as an adult. Your guidance always points me back in the right direction.
4. Thank you for staying off work when I was ill - now that I'm older I know taking time off work isn't always easy, yet you stayed at home without a second thought just to look after me when I wasn't very well.
5. Thank you for reminding me that I'm human - mistakes happen and things often go wrong but you're always there to reassure me that we wouldn't be human if we didn't make mistakes.
6. Thank you for stopping me from making silly decisions - even though at the time I could've sworn it wasn't 'just a phase, mom', now that I've grown up I can't thank you enough for stopping me from making awful decisions.
7. Thank you for providing me with rules to follow - for teaching me good morals and helping me to become a good person, yet giving me my own freedom to discover my own beliefs and wants.
8. Thank you for teaching me that it's ok to say no - even when you didn't want to, you taught me that certain things need to be earned. Saying no to me made me realise that sometimes saying 'no' is for the best.
9. Thank you for calling me out when you know I'm lying - for showing me that lying is wrong and how important it is to be honest.
10. Thank you for inspiring me - if I grow up to be even half the woman/mother you are, I will be extremely happy.
11. Thank you for showing me how to forgive - you can always forgive but that doesn't mean you always have to forget.
12. Thank you for always showing me you love me - showering me with hugs and kisses, telling me you love me, praising me etc. It all means the world to me.
13. Thank you for always bailing me out - for giving me money when I need it and even when I say I'll pay it back, you don't expect to see a single penny of it. For buying me things you know I really want but cannot physically afford; for just wanting to see me happy.
14. Thank you for supporting my relationships - for putting so much effort into making my other half feel like part of the family and encouraging me when things go wrong that they will work themselves out if they're meant to be.
15. Thank you for always cooking for me - for constantly making sure that I'm fed and that I don't ever go without.
16. Thank you for knowing exactly where everything is - even when I think I've lost something forever, you're always on hand to dig it out within minutes of me moaning about it.
17. Thank you for cleaning up after me - AND for not cleaning up after me once I got to a certain age, just so that I could gain a sense of independence.
18. Thank you for keeping some things just between you and I - there's some things that dad just doesn't need to know about.
19. Thank you for being my agony aunt when I fell out with friends - for always having a listening ear and helping me to sort out any drama that arose with so-called 'friends'.
20. Thank you for loving me more than you love yourself - you are incredible and I can't thank you enough for everything you do for me. Thank you for being the best mum I could ever ask for.
It'll be almost impossible for myself to match up to you when I become a mother but I just want you to know that even when you thought you were the worst mother in existence, you were actually moulding me into the woman I am today.
Thanks, mum. I love you.
This summer The Huffington Post UK is spearheading an initiative helping families thrive, with a focus on parent wellbeing, the challenges facing stay-at-home and working parents, friendships and navigating the landscape of modern parenting beyond the 2.4. To kickstart the campaign, Jamie Oliver guest edited the site, bringing a focus on feeding healthy families.
We'll be sharing stories and blogs with the hashtag #ThrivingFamilies and we'd like you to do the same. If you'd like to use our blogging platform to share your story, email ukblogteam@huffingtonpost.com to get involved.