Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I think I might just be a big disappointment to my mother.

My mother definitely didn't want a daughter like me. If I couldn't do an activity in stilettos, I don't want to do it at all. Which rules out my mothers' love of long walks in the 'fresh air', countryside bike rides in Lycra, and weekends with the Caravan Club. I don't even pee in Harrods, I'm hardly going to be thrilled about a campsite toilet block.

"I think you must have been switched at birth...if it wasn't for the fact you look just like me, I'd seriously think that was true!" she's saying to me now. Thanks mum.

She's right though. The only time I'd ever consider running is for a shoe sale. My idea of fresh air is eating my Wagamamas on the balcony at Westfield, rather than inside. And I'm never going to pick spending the night in a car, over a hotel. I just don't get it.

Also, I could just be one of the messiest people to walk this planet, and well, we don't call my mum Tidy Heidi for nothing.

I like shopping, she likes cycling. I like stuffing my face with chocolate, she thinks oatcakes are a good treat.  Her room is spotless, mine looks like the aftermath of a hurricane in Primark.

Every now and then though, you can see the resemblance. Like when she comes out of Fossil with three new bags, the look on her face is one I have every day on Oxford Street. And her reaction to a packet of Reeses echoes mine to, well, just about every food on the planet. There's probably enough to prove we are related, but you wouldn't think it most of the time.

I may not be the perfect daughter, I'm probably far from it, but despite all that my mum has supported every decision I made, stood by me through all the problems Ive had in the past, and stuck up for me. She's taught me so many things, that beauty is nothing in comparison to intelligence, empathy, and being a strong, independent woman. She's taught me that true love does exist, and that you love someone because of their flaws, not despite them. Otherwise she never would have put up with my dad for the best part of a quarter of a century. She's taught me that no matter what, as long as you have your family and your health, everything will be okay. And I admire her so much.

One of the greatest role models in my life has always been my father. He may have a collection of the lamest jokes ever written, and a love of sarcasm so strong I rarely know what he actually means, but he is, hands down, the greatest man I have ever met. He may have failed every GCSE he sat, and have attended less school than even me, but the man has created something incredible, something he loves, and something that makes me so proud my heart aches, from having so little when I was born.

My Dad is also the master at social situations. He has taught me everything I know about how to handle different people and different circumstances. I credit him entirely for me getting into LCF, if it wasn't for him, I never would have handled my interview the way I did, and I genuinely don't think I would have gotten in.

I am so proud of everything my parents have achieved together, I couldn't wish for anything better for them.

This Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for my parents. For everything they've given me, everything they've taught me, and everything they've inspired me to be. Without their love and support, who knows where I would be. I couldn't be prouder to call them Mum and Dad.