Dear Mum: Erin McNaught’s heartfelt Mother’s Day letter

One of the main reasons Erin McNaught moved back to Brisbane from the UK was to be closer to her mum. Ahead of Mother’s Day she pens this heartfelt message. SEND US YOUR MESSAGE TO MUM

MODEL and actor Erin McNaught moved back to Brisbane from the UK last year, and one of the key reasons was to be closer to her mum Lin McNaught.

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Why model Erin McNaught quit London for Brisbane

Dear Mum,

You aren’t like other mums. You might have been in the past, when I was younger; saying all those things that mums are meant to say, like “be careful!” or “don’t run on the concrete”. Not now.

Now I’m a mother myself, saying those exact things to my sons, as you did. When did you stop? When did you instead start saying things like, “I bought a new top today and got one in your size because I thought you’d want one too”?

Somewhere along the line, you decided that I was a big girl and could make my own decisions. There is never any chastising or blunt suggestions on how to raise my boys. You are always, always there for me when I do ask for your advice though, but for some reason you trust me to live my life without your opinion. I think this is the ultimate compliment you can receive from your parent as an adult. You spend your entire life being told what to do, what not to do, how to act, how to react, then one day you wake up and realise that that parent is now your friend. And you are my very best friend!

Erin McNaught with mum Lin McNaught. Picture: Mark Cranitch

To an outsider it might seem strange that you have very few friends your age. Nearly everyone you socialise (or as it is now, social distance) with, is in their 30s or 40s. This is not because you’re trying to hold on to your youth, but because everyone your age has forgotten theirs. They see their younger self as an entirely separate being. They say things like “When I was young, I did that. I was important/daring/mischievous/silly.”

You don’t, because you are still the same person you’ve always been. Quick to laugh, quick to joke, still quicker than me when you get your shopping walk on, despite being only 5 feet tall! Most impressive is that at the age of 60-something, when most people your age are sitting around knitting, or baking cakes, or happy that they’ve walked around the block a few times, you’re the quickest you’ve ever been on a mountain bike! 2-3 hour rides every Saturday (your ‘Church’), on top of riding 18km, 5 days a week to and from work... People half your age can’t do what you do!

Of all your attributes, however, the one I feel has had the most profound effect on me has been your unwavering ability to take things in your stride, never letting anything get you down or damper your happy-go-lucky, positive attitude.

Erin McNaught out for a ride with mum Lin. Picture: Mark Cranitch

I’ve come to realise that I too have this attitude towards life. I was asked recently to talk about my worst memory and the impact it had had on me. I sat and thought for days and honestly could not think of anything. To me, there isn’t really a bad or good experience, there is only the lesson you learn from that experience. Always look ahead. Learn from the past but don’t dwell on it.

Yes you taught me how to sew a button and how to clean a kitchen PROPERLY, and in the early days even taught me a thing or two about mountain biking. But the best thing you taught me was resilience. With all that’s happening in the world today, resilience is quite possibly the most important thing you can have, that can never be taken away. When my boys are all grown up, my only hope is that they are as happy and content as I am. And you will look at them, and see their smiling faces, and know that your legacy continues.

Happy Mother’s Day, mum, and thank you.

* Tell us in 200 words what your mum means to you, attach a favourite photo of you together, and email to [e-mail]