My Mother

Last year I wrote a post about my Dad,  and thought it would be nice to write something about my mum this year.

My mum...it' hard to put her in a box, because she neither fits in a square peg nor a round hole. She's quite an eccentric person, unpredictable, a Go-getter, a Miss-do-it-all. She can be fickled one moment, yet stubborn the next. Plans with my mum often change randomly just like the unpredictable weather in Chicago. That's her. She's got a temper that explodes like dynamite but cools down faster than a sizzling bottle of coke.

My mum lives by the motto, nothing is impossible. If it can be done, I can do it; if it's broken, I can fix it!  So when growing up, mum cut my hair, mum sewed my clothes, mum cooked all the food for me and dozens of guests who visited us every weekend, everyday!!

Mum fixed all the broken light bulbs in the house, mum did the gardening, mum sewed the curtains...and a 1000 other things.

When the washing machine, sewing machine or any machine broke down, you'd hear a tinkering and tankering and Walla! Mum would have it fixed. When the pipe under the sink or outside burst,  mum would get her tools...more tankering, and Walla, fixed!!! :D    You're beginning to understand my mum?  She moved heavy furniture around by herself, and a whole load of DIY.

Not only that, she worked several jobs to ensure that I had a chance to learn music, and to help save up enough to help me buy a piano. Mum also had numerous hobbies! She did flower arrangement for weddings and used to win competitions in arrangement. She baked cakes to sell, she made jewellery, she sewed all sorts of things, she used to conduct cooking workshops, and she worked as a teacher at a primary school.  (She also had to spend lotsa time taming 2 monkeys at home ie. me and my brother.)

She's also an avid traveller. She loves the beauty of European countries, but has spent more time than most, travelling to the poorest slums in India, Bangladesh, Cambodia etc, bringing help to the poor, and of course feeding them with food for that is very important to her. Step into her house, and she always has food to serve!

Really, describing my mum would take a life time, because I cannot summarize her into a line.

Today, she's a volunteer, teaching English to village kids once a week, teaching English to refugees on another day, and baby sitting my girls twice a week. When my girls are at her house, she teaches them Malay, and recently has begun teaching them sewing! Just this week Nel is learning how to sew a skirt.

What tickled me and prompted me to write this post today was because  Nel said
"Mum, do you know what Ahma (grandma) told me yesterday? She asked, What do you want to learn Nel? Chinese? Malay? Sewing? Cooking? Electricity? You name it, I can teach you. No point going to tuition classes and wasting your money. I fix everything in this house. Want me to teach you about electricity? I can do that next."   I had to laugh when I heard that.

A Cake mum baked for my 5th birthday, and a dress and necklace mum made for me.

Yup....that's my mum.  (P.S My dad is terrific too, but this is a post bout mum  :).  As for me,  I'm very much like my dad, phlegmatic, easy going. So I'm thankful for a mum who kicked some butt or else I wouldn't be who I am today.

 Thank you mum for enriching my life with your creativity. 

Happy Mother's Day to you mum, I love you. 

To all mothers, You're one in a million. Mothers rule the world with their courage, love and determination to have the best for their children. Without them, we'd be nowhere.

@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2012

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