Parent of the Year

We want to enter our mother for the Parent of the Year Award as she is the strongest woman you will ever meet. She has been a foster parent for many years, has three birth children and six long-term foster children who she regards as her own. The number of short-term foster children varies through the year - she has taken in babies and reared them as her own only for them to go home again, but she always survives it with a smile. Everyday, she cooks a healthy meal for everyone in our house including her parents-in-law, nephew and daughter-inlaw - on average, up to 14 people a day.

She has survived a lot in her time, including a tough break-up from our dad ten years ago. Even with all her kids, she managed to find a lovely new husband who treats all the children like his own. She does everything she can for the children, ensuring they are doing their best, providing them with individual homework time, bringing them to dance classes, etc. Four days after her wedding, she took on our little brother Josh who was then just over a year old and, due to neglect, couldn't walk, talk or even make eye contact. Josh is now almost five and my mother has managed to turn his life around. He has since been diagnosed with autism which was a hard time for her but she ensures Josh has everything he needs. Social workers say that without her efforts, Josh would not be able to do half the things he does today. He can now run around all day long and has come on in leaps and bounds. Every time one of us needs anything -she is there for us.

Anyone who knows our mother calls her a saint and we all think she deserves this award.