The older I get, the more I appreciate my mum, and even as an adult she is 100% there for me in all my endeavours, cheering me on and supporting me.

The day I got my mythic, she was there assuring me that I wasn't crazy and encouraging me to take the plunge. When I wanted to have a mermaid cottage event, she was there with meal plans to accommodate everyone's food restrictions, helping me host, and taking pictures. And when Adria offered to let Mum try on her Vancouver Mermaid tail, the look on her face as she wore a tail for the first time was radiant!

(She immediately called Dad over to see. Bless his heart, he doesn't understand any of this mermaid obsession—but he saw how thrilled she was and told her she looked great.)

Yes hi, welcome to being a mermaid! Sorry-not-sorry, you've been hooked, no take backs!

Plus-sized mers all know this struggle, I'm sure: finding a tail that fits well is much harder in plus-size. It was so great to see Mum experience the magic of her own mer-transformation, but it's not complete yet; her feet are ladies size 12, the tops of her feet are very high and her ankles are very wide. Currently, none of the monofins we've found work for her. Not the Finfun, Linden, or even the largest Mahina.

To our delight, she spent time at MerMagic Con 2020 chatting with the wonderful people from Mertailor, who were really interested in some of the issues for plus-sized tails and monofins. Just making the foot pockets bigger doesn't help—larger people tend to have thicker thighs and calves that make it impossible for them to have their feet as close! They even asked if they could take measurements of her feet and legs, and as we left the con she was glowing with excitement that a company might soon create fins she could use.

The thing I love the most about the mermaid community is how accepting and inclusive we are, and my mum being welcomed with open arms makes me so proud to be a mermaid. I'm so happy to be sharing this wonderful thing with the most wonderful woman in my life, and I know every mer who has met her can confirm that the community is richer with her in it.