My mother started teaching when she was barely 21 years old. When she discovered FaceBook, she managed to reconnect with many of her former students and many of them do not simply call her “Miss” or “Madam” but “Mama”. Yes, she has also become their second mother and I am proud they think of her that way.
I’ve always loved my mother and had a special bond with her. When I was a teenager, instead of the usual teenage angst that normally drives children away from parents, I found a confidante and best friend in her.
I appreciated her all the more when I started having children of my own. I look at her wrinkled hands now and I get teary eyed thinking of how those hands, over the years, soothed my pain and worry, bathed me, clothed me, fed me, held me…and now those very same hands are doing the exact same things to MY children.
We were tested when she was diagnosed with breast cancer stage 2a in 2007. But the fighter that she was decided to immediately go for mastectomy. She also went through 6 cycles of chemotherapy, leaving her with the classic symptoms of blackened nails, metallic taste in the mouth, and hair loss. She took her hair loss in stride, having fun doing virtual hair and makeup makeovers on her phone. She drove herself to her radiotherapy sessions.
When I see my mother, I see the strongest person I know. I see a hero. I see everything I wish to be.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mama. Words will never be enough to express my love for you.
