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Nick Walshaw, Rosemarie Lentini The Daily Telegraph April 24, 2010 The Daily Telegraph is looking for candidates for Mother of the Year 2010. Here are the stories of some inspirational mums already in the running Hayley Butler Hayley Butler rang Telstra the other day to talk through a payment plan. Give herself some breathing space. "Because trying to fund my dream was hard. Well, it is hard,'' she shrugs. "But what other choice do I have? You've gotta give it a go.'' All inspiration, anonymity and nappy bags, Butler is the undisputed Cinderella story of our 2010 Commonwealth Games team. A girl from Smithfield in western Sydney who has spent the past two years marrying husband Stephen, giving birth to son Cooper, buying her first home and recovering from a nasty shoulder reconstruction. A mum who rocked the Aussie athletics scene last weekend by clearing 10 hurdles quicker than any other woman in the country. Incredibly, it's only 15 months since Butler gave birth. Only five since she decided to ease back into athletics. And five weeks since she decided to give hurdling a crack. A mother who is now set to represent Australia for the first time. Who, with husband Stephen, has dipped heavily into their savings to fund an incredible rise that, only a fortnight ago, saw Butler run in Sydney and on the Gold Coast in the same day. Who has to pay for flights, hotels and all those little extras. Who was so happy that The Daily Telegraph would want to take her family's picture, "because I'd love to keep it for my son''. Nick Walshaw Anastasia Clarke Anastasia Clarke knows what a tricky balancing act motherhood can be. At 36, the Mosman mum has three children aged under six and works up to 12 hours a day as group treasurer at property company The GPT Group. But she always ensures she takes time out of her high-stress job to meet her family's needs. "There'd be one day a week when I would be home early, maybe 4pm, so I can be with my kids. Or I'd start work a bit later in the morning so I can go to a parent-teacher interview.'' She says she is "extremely lucky'' to work at a company that allows her to have work/life balance. "I share the caring role with my supportive husband,'' she says. "We ebb and flow between us who is the primary parent. This year it's my husband, and last year it was me, and we really relish it . . . because that's the joy of being a parent.'' Rosemarie Lentini Minn Simpson and Melinda Pickard For Raelee "Minn'' Simpson, being a good mum means keeping busy to "stay sane''. The single mother from Dubbo works part time while raising four children, including 14-year-old Paige who suffers from a rare bowel condition. Paige can only drink water and lemonade and is hooked to a drip 14 hours a day. "Looking after Paige is a big commitment. It's not her lack of independence, it's just the constant attention,'' 38-year-old Simpson says. Between hospital visits and work as a projects assistant, she also manages her nine-year-old son Kain's rugby league team. "I love it and it keeps me sane,'' she says. "Life can be hard sometimes. But as a mother, you wouldn't say you'd change anything. In a perfect world, you wouldn't be the person you are today.'' Simpson represents regional NSW on the Sydney Children's Hospital's parent consumer council. That's where she met Melinda Pickard, whose son Edward, 14, has cystic fibrosis and is friends with Simpson's daughter Paige. Between emergency calls and hospital beds the two mums have forged a close friendship. "Minn is amazing, we really learn so much from one another,'' Pickard says. "It's great that our kids have each other, it just makes life that bit easier.'' While Edward leads a relatively normal life, he still needs a lot of attention. "I have to constantly monitor him,'' Simpson says. "He takes 51 tablets a day, his sugar levels have to be checked twice a day, every meal he eats has to have high fat and protein content.'' The Heathcote mum, who also has another child, juggles her job as an accounts clerk with running a cystic fibrosis support group in Campbelltown. Rosemarie Lentini Barbara Bannister Emergency carer Barbara Bannister is used to waking up at 3am to the phone's piercing shrill. Over the past 30 years the foster mum has provided accommodation to more than 500 desperate young people at her four-bedroom home in Bargo, in Sydney's southwest. In addition to her vulnerable young charges, the 68-year-old also has six children of her own, including adopted son Christopher, 23, who has Down syndrome. "I just love what I'm doing. I'm interested in the welfare of children and helping to give them a new direction in life,'' Bannister says. Following in her mother's footsteps, Bannister fostered her first child in 1979. She thought about quitting after her husband Geoffrey died nearly five years ago, but "there are kids and families who still need me'', she says. "Everyone calls me Mum. I'm just `Mum' to a lot of people.'' Rosemarie Lentini |