10th May 2010 , Posted by Jaime Teo
My First Mother’s Day!
When I opened my inbox yesterday, an e-card from my aunt was waiting – my first Mother’s Day card! It was one of those animated cards and my aunt even personalized it with a picture from one of our family gatherings. My face broke into a big smile when I saw which picture she picked.
The picture was taken by me, this time last year. It was a ‘mothers only’ picture and the 7 women in it were smiling gleefully at me as I said “1, 2, 3 cheese!”. I remember someone (it’s hard to pinpoint which female voice when everybody was talking at once) saying “Quick quick, if you make a baby this year, you can join us in the picture next year”. I of course gave a polite smile and asked them to change positions for another shot.
I would never have believed it if someone told me I’d be a mother come Mother’s Day 2010. But that’s why somebody coined the term never say never, right?
So, what’s different about celebrating Mother’s Day as a mother?
To me, it is about looking at other mothers in a previously unseen dimension – my mother, my sister, my aunties, my grandmother and all my friends who are mothers. I imagine they must all feel the same way I do about Renee, about their children. I imagine they must all have gone through the sleepless nights (plus many more since they have a head start), the heart pain (Oh, Renee had her first cut and my heart felt like it got cut too. I have already admitted to being a wuss so there.), the frustration(times when I wish Renee could just tell me what she wants) and all the big feelings like love, hope and fears.
When I was 7months pregnant, my mother and I did an interview with Her World (the story is in this month’s issue, May 2010, pg 186).
In summary, it is about what my mom did to raise me and my sister up singlehandedly. It also spoke of the stormy times we had when we did not talk to each other for 2 years and how we made up afterwards….
I have lived this story but reading it through my month-old mother’s eyes has made me appreciate my mother even more. It’s a different sort of appreciation from my pre-mother days. I always knew the sacrifices she made for us, always felt that things must have been tough for her. But now, I really FEEL how tough it must have been. Maybe I’m a little low on EQ and needed to be a mother before I could empathize the sort of feelings she must have had.
I mean, now that I have Renee, I can hear my heart breaking into little pieces just imagining us becoming strangers when she turns 17 and not speaking for 2 years.( Ok, the wuss thing is getting a little out of hand. Maybe my hormone levels haven’t yet adjusted to a regular level, but I’m sure you get the drift.) So thinking of what my mom went through now… OUCH.
So this Mother’s Day, other than feeling occasionally wussy teary with gratitude, I’m feeling especially thankful. And especially filled with admiration for all Mothers. Especially mine =)
13 Comments
jacobian
May 10th, 2010 at 6:34 am
happy mother’s day then.anyway it’s a nice story.
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Lings
May 12th, 2010 at 8:26 am
wow.. actually just seeing the cover story already made my heart a little heavy.. I def’ could use some advice there.. Don’t want to only empathise with my mum only after I become one. Afterall, I don’t even know when that may be. For a start, maybe I’ll try not talking back to her :p
And congrats on your first Mommy’s Day! Sorr’ I couldn’t be there at Renee’s 1st month.. I’m sure everyone had a blast, including the lil’ princess!! See you both soon!
Celine Yeo
May 17th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Congrats Mummy!! It’s a great feeling to know that you can celebrate this day. But with millions of other moms?! But wait… till the day Renee gives you your 1st mothers’ day card
She’ll make you feel you are the ONLY mom in this universe!
Jaime Teo
May 19th, 2010 at 8:18 am
Celine : Since Renee is only 6 weeks old, it feels like it’ll be a looong time before that card comes. Am sure it’ll be totally worth the wait when it happens tho
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