Mother

Mother's Day was celebrated recently. Like Christmas and many other such special occasions, it can easily take on a different meaning, a commercial exercise at best. Nothing wrong with that. I didn't put out a message before hand to have an observation and found that filial piety is alive here or so it seems as restaurants were all full.

Today's mothers are no different. I will in no way belittle today's mothers because I have personally witnessed amazing childbirths which is nothing short of miraculous and I have always told people that once you ave witnessed a childbirth, you will change as a person. Many of our parents' generation do not have doctors and the technology available nor the amenities and modern facilities and comfort. Even the doctors were not skilled in cutting the umbilical cords. 


I always thought my generation's belly buttons were much uglier as doctors those days just cut, tied a knot and tucked away, they don't do aesthetics. I don't think they even really tucked it in nicely. Last but not least, they weren't enough doctors around to do delivery so babies were actually delivered by just mid-wives in our homes. So, can you imagine our grandmothers giving birth to 6-9 children? May be child-bearing is good as many grandmothers lived long lives. I have known friends who counted their chickens to me before they hatched. They told me they definitely wanted four children but after one popped up, they couldn't find the time, the stress and the pain.

In many poorer countries today, giving birth to a child could mean death for the mother. In well off societies, something is wrong when a mother dies from child-birth. Yet these mothers from poor countries would proceed with the risks. It is inevitable that as children grow up and have their business, careers and own families, there is little time left for their mothers. Some do not even treat their mothers well when they are still alive and yet burn tonnes of hell notes for their mums when they were gone. Some even cheated their own mothers of her money. No joke, I have seen real stuffs like that.

I remembered how my mum would wake up in the middle of the night to cover each of us with blankets during the cold and rainy December and how she would take the trouble to cook us nutritious and warm meals where we sometimes didn't have the time to eat rushing off to school and later to work. How she took care of each of us when we had chicken pox and measles - me and my sisters. There wasn't much for mothers to enjoy and time was a luxury. She live her life for us - each and every mother. She didn't even have time for rest so to speak.

No matter how great fathers are, even the world's greatest fathers could never replace a mother. Her role is special. She is here for a reason. All her children were once attached to her through the umbilical cord for a reason and she carried them around for nine months with difficulty. 


For every of our birthday, the mother should be the one to be honoured because it was on our birthdays that she became our mother. In the hustle and bustle of our busy daily lives, it is easy to forget the little things. As a parent, I can understand what a mother has to go through, toiling even more if they have to live with the in-laws especially in the old days, deprivation of sleep when the children were young. The very same anxiety and anguish we may be going through now as our child goes out late, stayed away for camps or enlisted for National Service.

A mother's love is selfless and instinctive. It is evident throughout our lives. All children of every age need to cherish this special bond and reciprocate with our love, concern, gratitude and care even more so as they are likely to be of a certain age. Our feelings may changed or have evolved for some but this must remain intact. 


This is why we refer to a ship, a mountain, the moon, the sun as "she" or "her" and all of nature as Mother Nature. It is God's greatest gift to mankind! Some of us may have mothers who have already gone to a better place, this must not be in vain. Because of her, you are here. She has passed on her legacy through you and I am sure we have all benefitted from a mother's touch and her modest yet impactful ways. Let's face it, who else would love your ugly face except your mum?

Kudos to all the Mothers!! Love your mum and respect and honour her in ways you know best and yes don't forget the fathers too! I am one. More on that at another time.

Exodus 20: 12 - Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God has given thee.

What is honour? Honour is an allegiance to moral principles, integrity, esteem, regard, great respect, nobility, to pay homage to, a moral obligation, to confer a distinction. This include many others like love, respect, provision, support and care. Do not ever mistreat or forget the person who loves even your ugly face. Kudos to mothers and may each generation learn from the values and virtues of the early generation and be blessed!

I remember my mum would always be the first to be up before daylight hits and would be busy from dusk to dawn. Many other mothers were much like that. During those days, many families were poor. Very few could afford life insurance, in fact nobody trusted it and there were families whose sole bread winner were lost leaving behind the mother to fend for the brood of children, washing clothes for people or doing the dishes at food stalls to earn a meagre living.

Yet many of these children grew up with a good education and became successful in life. Isn't it amazing that mothers have such great strength and sense of sacrifice? It is mothers who keep families together and if the family is the core fabric of society then mothers have woven entire societies together. They keep the world alive with love and how often do our mothers still treat us like babies worrying about whether we had eaten properly and so on even if you are already 40-50 years old.