I've just been on holiday with a lady who knows how to shop.
She likes white wine and Bacardi-based cocktails, but gets a bit giggly, then a bit sweary, if she mixes the two.
She has a wicked sense of humour and won't think twice about telling a waiter, taxi driver or the milkman if they've failed to live up to her high standards.
But she would, quite literally, jump in front of a bus to protect the people she loves.
On top of that, she's a terrible influence - I always spend double the amount I've budgeted when I'm with her.
This fabulous female happens to be my mother.
Shady Ladies...
When I told my friends I was going on holiday with my mum, reactions ranged from the slightly mocking "God I couldn't think of anything worse", to the downright envious "wow I wish I had that kind of relationship with my mum".
One friend, I kid you not, actually said: "You're going on holiday with your mum? Why? What happened?".
I'm not sure whether she assumed I'd been tricked into booking a holiday with my mum, or was just enquiring whether I'd broken up with my boyfriend and lost all my other friends.
Either way, it seems that choosing to spend four whole days abroad with the woman who gave birth to you isn't a normal way to behave when you're 23 years old.
Then again, I've always been a bit middle aged (the kind of kid who likes to go rambling more than sitting in front of the TV, yeah, you know the ones).
Much to my friends' surprise, amusement and disbelief, I was the one who suggested the two of us pack our bags and head to Barcelona for a long weekend.
The main reason I wanted to go on holiday with my mum was to say thank you.
Before you jump to conclusions and think I consider gracing my mother with my presence a gift, hear me out.
I've always had a great relationship with my mum, even as a teenager - my sister had the moody teen thing covered enough for the pair of us - but even so, our relationship has definitely changed in recent years.
My mum used to tell me what to do (with my best interests at heart, of course), but now she asks for my advice as often as I ask for hers.
Well, almost.
It's hard to pinpoint when we went from parent and child to mother and daughter who are also friends, but I think it was probably around the same time she trusted me enough to let me borrow her Mulberry.
She's made so many sacrifices for me over the years, from working her arse off to pay for the ballet lessons I loved, to supporting me while I interned when I was on my quest to land a job in journalism.
It's only now, as an adult, that I fully appreciate everything she's done for me.
In July, I will have been working at The Huffington Post UK for a year. What better way could there be to celebrate than going on holiday with the woman who got me here?
The fact that I could pay my own way, for the first time in my life, was the cherry on the cake for both of us.
Visiting the Sagrada Familia by day and sipping piña coladas by night may not be what most 23-year-old's do with their mothers.
But I'm bloody glad I did.
HuffPost UK Lifestyle are running a month-long campaign called Celebrating Parents throughout June, to highlight the great things parents do every day, as well as the times they've gone above and beyond the call of duty.
If you would like to contribute, either with a special message of thanks to your mum and/or dad, or if you know of a parent (your own or someone else's) with an inspiring story to share, then please email us here with "Celebrating Parents" in your email's subject line.