Maegan's birthday party was a blast, and even though we worked hard to prepare for it, it was well worth it when we saw the glee on her face with the balloons, and all her cousins and friends jumping in the bouncy toddler playpen with her.

It was also significant for me because I celebrated my first Mother's Day. For starters, I gave myself a pat on my back. I've survived motherhood for 12 months and they say the next 12 months are going to get more exciting, and challenging.

The other thing that struck me during Maegan's birthday was how much I enjoyed being a mummy, even though the first couple of months took plenty of adjustment in our lives, and lots of care and attention to every minute detail about Maegan.

When they say that mothers have the worst memory, I tend to agree only because those months of waking up in the wee hours of the morning to breastfeed her, balancing work and family demands, and tending to her every food, and diaper needs just seem to fade into oblivion.

But Maegan at 12 months, walking on her own, uttering one to two words such as 'more' and 'Da-da', and expressing herself through her feisty, fire-cracker of a personality is simply beyond my wildest imagination. And to think I have a hand in this little being makes me feel so proud, and appreciated.

Happy Birthday, Maegan!

But on the same day that I celebrated my first mother's day, I had an unpleasant incident with my own mum.

Suffice to say, it was a big misunderstanding that was blown bigger because she now thinks I blame her for her generosity, with no appreciation for the fact that she paid money to host a buffet dinner amongst close family friends and relatives to celebrate Mother's Day.

Her reaction was thoroughly explosive, when she banged the table hard and shouted harsh words, before turning her back to strut into her room. I heard more shouting after and realized that appeasing my mum has always been an impossible task.

The incident hung on my mind the entire day and I wondered how it could not be more significant that it happened on Mother's Day.

It made me think about what my reaction will be, had I been in my mother's shoes. My husband often tells me how my temperament is similar to my mother but to have the lashing out happen on me made me see the other side of the coin - how as a daughter we think we?re so alike to our mothers, but so different too.

I made a promise to myself that day, that despite being like my mum in some ways, I would check myself constantly, to make sure that life doesn't take the same turn for me. Even though I may have my own point of view, I can try to be the first person to initiate a conversation with Maegan and if it requires a 'sorry', that I may have the strength to provide it, when the time arises.

Deep down inside, my wish is for Maegan to be who she is, that I can only influence her, but never dictate her. And through my influence, she will find her own level of influence that I believe has its good intentions, if I start out that way with mine.

As for the rest, I'm happy to deal with it when we get there.

Meanwhile, the flowers didn't work for my mum, so I'm sitting here cracking up other ideas that she won't throw away and call them rubbish.