Today is Mother's Day and my friend convinced me to do the Mother's day 9k+ race with her. When it comes to running, it does not take too much of convincing - I signed up. It was a hard race, pretty hilly course, and a race that I would have liked to have ended at the 4k marker. I never feel like this about running, and yet that was the exact thought that came to my mind. I finished strong for how I was feeling - 56 mins for 6.1 miles.
As I tried to nap after the race, a lot of thoughts came to my mind - may be it was destined to be a hard race reminding all the mother's that its not easy being a mom. But it taught us all to put one foot ahead of the other, and go up and over time and again. Every mom has been through tougher days than today, starting from what I call "Labor day, to the endless nights tending to a new born, learning the "breastfeeding dance" as my nurse called it, umpteen diaper changes, handled numerous tantrums, and the list keeps going on and on, but each of us have gone "up and over" and enjoyed the journey motherhood has to offer.
Today, I thought about my mother, not that I do not think of her other days, but today was really special. A friend once told me "You realize your mom's worth around when you are 25 years old, but you never really vocalize it until you are 30 years old" and I think that is very true. Its tough to start penning down every quality of your mom, especially if you have a mom like mine. Let me give this a shot.
My mom is an aneasthesiologist, and works at Goa Medical College. Well, that is her profession, however, she has so many other traits that went through my mind today. Being a doctor, she was definitely on the busy side as a mom, but it amazes me when I think about my childhood how much she actually did for us. It amazes me more now more than ever before cause I am now a mom, and I understand how difficult it is.
She stitched all our clothes I think until we were around 10 years old, and the dresses she made for us - well I still remember the red dress with dolls embroidered on it. That dress and many more but for some reason that dress really stands out. She always made our breakfast - which included making mango/pine-apple jams - yea she actually took a class that taught her to make these jams. She still makes them and now she has a new fan for them in my husband. She made us chapattis from scratch i.e. made them starting from the dough every single morning. She made sure we were getting sufficient nutrition especially cause we were very active as kids doing swimming competitively - we were always hungry. She cooked/prepared all of snacks - none of these goldfish crackers, or chews, or squishable pouches, or other store bought stuff. All this while being a doctor!
I still remember studying with my mom - she did her M.D while we were very young. I recollect the days she would study for her exams waking up at 4 am, so she could get a few hours of studies done before her "mommy clock" for the day started, and staying up late after all of us ate dinner, and her kitchen was spotlessly clean! To this day, remembering this keeps me going as I attempt to get my Phd.
When it came to lunch/dinner - she really is an excellent cook. She exposed us to different cuisines very early with Chinese being something she was really good at. This is not a very common thing kids from India grow up with. I think we were blessed. I still remember being a very picky eater - no onions, no cilantro, did not eat most of the dishes that were served but somehow she managed to cook around me. She would make homemade pizzas, wonton soup, and american chopsuey, and many other exotic dishes!
Both my parents were very strict when it came to education with us. They did not like when we had bad grades. I am glad about that to some extent - I think it only did me good in life.
I did mention about stitching and embroidery - well my grand mom, and mom were really very talented in that field. When it came to my wedding, she made me a trouseau that any bride would be jealous about. She embroidered several bed spreads with intricate design, countless pillow covers, and also crotched a very nice table cloth. I am probably missing a lot since I am yet to use 1/3 rd of the stuff she hand made for me. I am only doing it injustice.
My mom is very endearing in nature, she finds a way of fitting herself in any situation, any family and does it in a way that she does no harm to the people involved. I have seen this quality demonstrated so many times since my childhood. She readily accepts someone else's point even though she knows that person is not right - she says "it does not make her small" but her way of thinking is - "the other person himself/herself realizes their mistake" - I think this quality has really helped her a lot. I think life would be a lot easier if there were more people who thought like her.
I could go and on like I said earlier about my mom, there are couple of things that I would like to go on about. She has this ability to complete any project to perfection when she puts her mind to it. I have seen how she helped both my sister and me when we became mom's ourselves - the first three months with an infant are not easy. But she took time off and was there with us to help in any way that she could. She has shown us both what unconditional, never-ending love is.
This Mother's Day is for and about my mom for me.
As I tried to nap after the race, a lot of thoughts came to my mind - may be it was destined to be a hard race reminding all the mother's that its not easy being a mom. But it taught us all to put one foot ahead of the other, and go up and over time and again. Every mom has been through tougher days than today, starting from what I call "Labor day, to the endless nights tending to a new born, learning the "breastfeeding dance" as my nurse called it, umpteen diaper changes, handled numerous tantrums, and the list keeps going on and on, but each of us have gone "up and over" and enjoyed the journey motherhood has to offer.
Today, I thought about my mother, not that I do not think of her other days, but today was really special. A friend once told me "You realize your mom's worth around when you are 25 years old, but you never really vocalize it until you are 30 years old" and I think that is very true. Its tough to start penning down every quality of your mom, especially if you have a mom like mine. Let me give this a shot.
My mom is an aneasthesiologist, and works at Goa Medical College. Well, that is her profession, however, she has so many other traits that went through my mind today. Being a doctor, she was definitely on the busy side as a mom, but it amazes me when I think about my childhood how much she actually did for us. It amazes me more now more than ever before cause I am now a mom, and I understand how difficult it is.
She stitched all our clothes I think until we were around 10 years old, and the dresses she made for us - well I still remember the red dress with dolls embroidered on it. That dress and many more but for some reason that dress really stands out. She always made our breakfast - which included making mango/pine-apple jams - yea she actually took a class that taught her to make these jams. She still makes them and now she has a new fan for them in my husband. She made us chapattis from scratch i.e. made them starting from the dough every single morning. She made sure we were getting sufficient nutrition especially cause we were very active as kids doing swimming competitively - we were always hungry. She cooked/prepared all of snacks - none of these goldfish crackers, or chews, or squishable pouches, or other store bought stuff. All this while being a doctor!
I still remember studying with my mom - she did her M.D while we were very young. I recollect the days she would study for her exams waking up at 4 am, so she could get a few hours of studies done before her "mommy clock" for the day started, and staying up late after all of us ate dinner, and her kitchen was spotlessly clean! To this day, remembering this keeps me going as I attempt to get my Phd.
When it came to lunch/dinner - she really is an excellent cook. She exposed us to different cuisines very early with Chinese being something she was really good at. This is not a very common thing kids from India grow up with. I think we were blessed. I still remember being a very picky eater - no onions, no cilantro, did not eat most of the dishes that were served but somehow she managed to cook around me. She would make homemade pizzas, wonton soup, and american chopsuey, and many other exotic dishes!
Both my parents were very strict when it came to education with us. They did not like when we had bad grades. I am glad about that to some extent - I think it only did me good in life.
I did mention about stitching and embroidery - well my grand mom, and mom were really very talented in that field. When it came to my wedding, she made me a trouseau that any bride would be jealous about. She embroidered several bed spreads with intricate design, countless pillow covers, and also crotched a very nice table cloth. I am probably missing a lot since I am yet to use 1/3 rd of the stuff she hand made for me. I am only doing it injustice.
My mom is very endearing in nature, she finds a way of fitting herself in any situation, any family and does it in a way that she does no harm to the people involved. I have seen this quality demonstrated so many times since my childhood. She readily accepts someone else's point even though she knows that person is not right - she says "it does not make her small" but her way of thinking is - "the other person himself/herself realizes their mistake" - I think this quality has really helped her a lot. I think life would be a lot easier if there were more people who thought like her.
I could go and on like I said earlier about my mom, there are couple of things that I would like to go on about. She has this ability to complete any project to perfection when she puts her mind to it. I have seen how she helped both my sister and me when we became mom's ourselves - the first three months with an infant are not easy. But she took time off and was there with us to help in any way that she could. She has shown us both what unconditional, never-ending love is.
This Mother's Day is for and about my mom for me.
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