Designer and artist, Helen Steele lives in a converted duck hatchery in Co. Monaghan with her children, Chloe, Halle and Ronnie and her husband, Stuart.
The one thing I have learned about myself since becoming a mother is… that to love is the most important thing in life. The power and motivation that love for your child gives you can overcome almost anything.
My mother and father taught me three valuable lessons in life…
My mum and dad both instilled a love of culture in our family we all had to learn to play the piano and were brought to plays and art exhibitions regularly.
Mostly they made us understand the importance of education. They would always say (after reading me the riot act after another bad school report) education is the greatest freedom in life, it’s your passport to anything in life.
My mum gave us a love of reading; it’s one of life’s greatest companions she would say, and she still has an amazing gift for picking out the most amazing kids books for her grandchildren. Oh god and they drummed into us “manners make the person”. And the importance of thank you letters!
The main thing that’s changed between my partner and myself since becoming parents is… we both matured pretty quickly as we became parents in our very early twenties. We made lots of mistakes along the way that we have together learned valuable life lessons from.
The one thing about parenthood that was a HUGE shock to me initially was… the lack of sleep, oh god that knocked me bad every time with each child as babies and toddlers. Wow! I was a zombie.
If my children have taught me anything about life, it would be… to appreciate life more especially the little things that pass us by in our busy daily routines. My kids are amazing at pointing out things like how raindrops fall on blades of grass, or a snail on the ground, or bees buzzing around flowers. These are precious moments that I appreciate more by sharing them with our children.
The three most important lessons I would like to teach my kids would be…
Your word is your bond. Listen, think and respond. Politely.
There is no one on this earth that is any better or any less than you. Have faith in yourself and your beliefs and stay true to them. Do not be swayed by others.
What you put into something is what you get out of it: Put time into learning how to cook, clean, and how to look after your finances. And start SAVING that communion and confirmation money.
The qualities I most admire in a person are…
Honesty, integrity, kindness, and manners.
What makes me happiest is… my family, my work and friends and nature. Oh and Nutella.
The last thing I think about before I sleep is… my work. I go to sleep thinking of the prints I’m currently working on and what they would work best with. And what art work would form to make a good print. Oh god, I’m totally obsessed. I go to sleep this way and wake up thinking about them!
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