Dear Eron,

Thank you for your e-mail. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, and I respect your need to share what was in your heart with me and others.

I actually do care what people think about me; that’s just part of being human. However, as I grow in grace and maturity, I am learning that I do not have to engage with people who just drop personal grenades simply because they do not feel the same way about things as I do.

I am in Washington, DC with my mom. As I was sitting across from this beautiful 85-year-old woman this morning, looking at the fear in her eyes and confusion on her face, as she struggled to figure out who I am and what my name is — and is this place that she has called home for the past 55 years really where she lives — my eyes filled with tears and I could actually feel my heart break.

You see, Eron, my mother has dementia, and on top of having to manage that, my family are also coming to terms with her recent diagnosis of leukaemia.

As you know, my son, Tyler, is incarcerated. He turned 29 on December 8. This is the fifth birthday that I have been unable to hug him or kiss him or give him a gift or take him out to dinner. I won’t see him this Christmas. I have at least 15 more Christmases and birthdays to spend without him. I will be almost 70 when he gets out of jail — he will be 43.

I tell you these things so that you understand what is important to me, Eron, and that is my family. Everything else pales in relevance and significance. Do I have faults? Absolutely. Have I made mistakes or said and done things that I would do differently with hindsight? Most certainly. However, I will always keep in mind the higher purpose I am serving by doing what I do, and your comments will definitely serve to motivate me to continue to strive for excellence.

I feel no animosity towards you, Eron. Messages such as yours, together with my life experiences, can only serve to shape me into an even more amazing woman, and for that, I am truly grateful.

Now, Eron, the wonderful season of Christmas is here and I am off to celebrate it with my beautiful mother.

May the light of love shine upon you and may your life be filled with blessings this Christmas season and beyond.

•Leah Scott is a government backbencher and the MP for Southampton East Central (Constituency 30)