Mother's Day Greetings and Dispensation

One of the Chinese songs that we used to sing in school, elementary school that is, goes something like this when translated: In this world the only good thing is Mom. A child that has a Mom is like a treasure …

Yes, the virtue of Mom. The selfless sacrifice, the ever protective Mom, who nurtures us single-mindedly, who takes care of our well-being unconditionally, and who showers us with love and affection unquestionably.

Today’s Mother’s Day. A special dedication to a special person, whose womb encapsulates us, whose hands cradle us, whose unflinching devotion envelopes us, and whose memories we dearly cherish when she has departed.

So don't take Mom for granted. Her words (aka nagging to most, and unsolicited advice to some) are not meant to pique you, nor are her actions (aka control to most, meddling to some) meant to frustrate you. She might seem like a resident cook at times, and a gratuitous help around the house at some other times. Yet other times, she may behave like a despot, imposing the most draconian rules and regulations (curfews come to mind) a teenager could possibly cope with, from your perspective.

Most of us realize the folly of our warped sence of justice, of betrayal, of interference until we have our own family. But Mom continues to do what she does best, leapfrogging the generation hiatus and caring for her grand children, sometimes reliving the same cold shoulder treatment meted out by her own children. So repay Mom when she is still with us, when she is still able to enjoy what we shower on her in return, and then we cherish our memories of Mom in our every living minutes.

So today’s blog is about my late Mom, wify, and all the great Moms and Moms-to-be in the world, and their mutual interactions. A week ago, our D’s mother-in-law sent wify a Mother’s Day greeting card from the Pacific seaboard as shown below, with a capital M surrounded by a tapestry of roses and an intricate embossed floral design.



Then our D, from the same Pacific Coast city of Portland, sent us a self-made Mother’s Day greeting card, with the patented stamp of a cat face, that of Bacon. Treasure, Cherish, Nurture (in red), Love, Laugh, Learn (in yellow), Honest, Pure, Simple (in green), and Peace, Tranquility, Serenity (in blue), the four clusters in a square formation representing the four pillars of values epitomized by Mom.

Then her friend, Lily, emailed her a e-greeting card on this auspicious occasion: a butterfly fluttering around a blooming flower. Simple elegance.


Not to be undone, wify also gave a bouquet of pink roses to Mrs. Kim, our erstwhile Korean neighbor who has taken care of our D for the past one-and-a-half months since we moved from South Tampa (but our D still has to go to school there until next week and she has been lodging there every school day after school until I could pick her up on my way home after work at 4.30pm). The brilliance of the flowers was only matched by her radiant smile and sincere thanks, from one Mom to another.


And to top it all, we had a late dinner at the nearby Perkins Restaurant. Wify ordered grilled salmon and I had crispy atlantic cod, with herb rice and brocolli, and carrot. I did not remember what the kids and my Bro had, but everyone reached home satiated.