By Patricia Uyeh

Ace celebrity photographer TY Bello penned a lovely tribute to her mother as mother’s day draws closer. The mother of two  took to her Instagram page and shared a photo of herself and mother then wrote a wonderful piece to her 77-year-old mother highlighting a few reasons why her mum is the most beautiful woman in the world.

She wrote:

” MOMEI!: when I was younger I thought my mother was the most beautiful woman on the planet. I was right .. she absolutely is..this woman turns 77 this year and she can out- slay you if you try her . She can out dance you too.. don’t even go there. My mother is a beautiful woman.

” I also thought she was the richest woman on the planet when I was 4 years old .. I was so broken and in disbelief when she explained that she wasn’t. How could she not be the richest .. !I tried to do a headcount of everyone living at our house .. every niece, nephew . Cousin.. distant cousin.. former neighbor .. people staying over to be closer to law school.. to work.. and countless strangers that she fed everyday . She had to be the richest.. my mother is a giver .. when I grew up our doors were always open and you really couldn’t tell her biological children from every one she was mother to.

” My mum is the toughest too.. she had this great balance between discipline and liberty. She didn’t stifle you but you behaved yourself cuz you didn’t want to get the ‘letter’.. my mum was famous for writing you from the ‘heart’ when you misbehaved .. I never got one of those letters .. my siblings shared the hard tales and the tortuous sleepless nights you got if you ever got one ..so me.. I just Kuku walked on the straight and narrow .. More powerful than the ‘letter ‘ was her praise .. I remember the smile and enthusiastic ‘thumbsup ‘ I got when I got my first prize in school.. I liked it .. and I wanted more .. so it kept me winning them. I’m a grown woman now and one of my favorite things is Momeis ‘thumbs up’ phone calls ..my mum is the best.

” My mother is a haaaaaaaard worker and I guess that’s where I get my resilience from. She also taught me how to be adventurous… to travel and to dance .. to enjoy getting older and be grateful. She’s taught me how to fight for what I believe in and to have this north facing arrow on my head .. I’m so proud of this woman .Love you momei.. happy Mother’s Day on sunday#mothers

Photo credit: Instagram @tybello