Mothers

Since time immemorial many things have been said about mothers.Their love , sacrifice ,sufferings , joys and hopes for their children have often been highlighted.It really takes somebody special to be a mother. I remember my mother.She was not educated and had to bring up six children on a very limited budget.To her it was important that there was food on the table everyday and she made sure that there was always enough to feed all of us. She told us that many a time she went to the market with her marketing basket with hardly a cent in her but somehow she managed to come back with food for us.How she did it only she knows but it was done . She washed, cooked and cleaned for us and along the way she was in away quite happy to be able to do it.For herself, she would eat very little ,contented with her kopi o ice and cigarettes .the best parts of the food would be kept for the family . She always said that she shared her love equally among the 6 of us but we knew that she had her favorites and to us it was fine as we accepted the fact that she was only human and of course some of us were more lovable than the rest. All her time was spent in the family except for the time when she went for her mahjong sessions.Even then she would make sure that dinner was prepared for the family.I remember when I talked to her about my wanting to study in the University ,she said " you must study hard and when you start working you must take care of your father and me ".That was my mission in life and throughout my study years I never forgot what she told me. Today as I look at mothers from my own wife to my children I note the same passion and love for the children.We brought up 4 girls plus some of the relatives' and friends' children and in the process one can really see what it takes to be a mother. I have seen that no sacrifice is too great or too difficult for a mother to make.There is nothing which a mother would not do for the children yet there are times when the children are so unkind .Mum told us yesterday about a friend of hers who felt so hurt when she was badly treated by the son and daughter in law . How she must have hurt.Irrespective of what the mother is children must above all understand her feelings and treat her as she treated them.Mother's day is not just the allocated day on the calender but it should be everyday and its sad that sometimes children dont know how to appreciate and cherish the mother.I remember that when we were young we used to celebrate the day by not letting our mum do anything and just let her enjoy one day of peace and not doing anything.This seems to be a forgotten thing nowadays. Mothers give so much and I wonder how much they get in return , not that they expect anything for what they have done and are doing .Loving them , cherishing them and appreciating them would always be enough for any mother .Not to difficult to do , yet sometimes we tend to forget .....