Musings of a fellow mother

It's Mother's Day today. As with the tradition since I came to Beijing, I arranged for some flowers to be sent to my mum prior. It was a pot of lovely blooms in a flower pot, and she called me on Friday night to thank me for the lovely surprise.

Along with it was my note to thank her for taking such good care of us all. Says so little, but it means so much for my dearest Mum, and Rosabelle's Popo.

It's true that only after being a parent yourself then will you realise the hardship, heartache, and of course, joy, that your child brings to you. Only then will you experience unselfish, boundless love. My brother shared a very meaningful anecdote with me that still bears fresh in my mind, about how my mum knows he has a love for chocolates, and kept a Ferroro Rocher chocolate for him when they visited him in Zurich last year.

My brother prefers his share of gourmet chocolates and pretty much snubbed it, saying her only takes better chocolates. However, in retrospect, he then kept that Ferrero Rocher chocolate on his table, to remind himself of humility, and how my mum unselfishly gave her son something she loves, giving a smile whilst he brashly and insensitively rejected it at that point in time.

My mum has been a very strong woman, and done/sacrificed alot to band the family together all by herself. I remember when I was in Singapore, I mentioned that I have a craving for butter cookies, and the next day, she remembered my passing remark and bought it from the supermarket for me. However, I only took a few pieces and lost my craving for it, and like with all things, she will be the one finishing the foods.

Seemingly small things like these that I used to overlook when I was younger, and also take for granted, but are much magnified and meaningful to me now that I am looking at things through the lenses of a fellow mother.

In fact, I am ashamed that I was apprehensive about whether she will love her third grandchild as much, seeing how lovely my sister's two kids are. 'Will Grandma have enough love for Rosabelle?'. Now I know that her love and care is not simply shared amongst all her children and grandchildren, she just has it in her to exude boundless love - with selfless love and energy where she dotes on each of us in her unique ways.

Happy Mother's Day (and Grandmother's Day) to Mummy.