This One Is For The First Fashionable Woman To Ever Influence My Life:
Mother’s Day makes me uncomfortable. I find it too commercialized and too contrived. I vowed a long time ago to never celebrate a holiday I felt was invented and perpetuated by folks out to make money off of sentiment. I figured, I could always tell and show my mom how much I love and appreciate her anytime.
But that never happens, so dammit here goes:
I’ve picked up a lot of things from my mom. By demonstrating and modeling some behaviors (and through actual advice given), here are the things I think my mom should take credit for:
1. My multiple bags - each day, I take along a minimum of four bags to work (2 laptop bags, 1 bag for papers and my notebooks, my lunchbox, sometimes my camera bag). I used to ride with my mom to/from school and each day she would ask our helper to load bag after bag after bag of her stuff which she lugs around wherever she goes (2 file bags, 1 make-up kit, her bag o’ food +++).
2. My morning face regimen - Growing up, I marveled at the multitude of bottles and jars on my mom’s dresser. I was a pimply kid in early high school and one day she pulled me in and handed me 2 bottles: one was a skin toner by Clinique, the other was a light moisturizer by Roc. Uhm, sounds girly but my face right now could be worse if not for these.
3. My disdain for anything dishonest - in second grade, I hated swimming class because they made you dive in the deep end of the pool then ask you to swim to the shallow part. I did not know how to swim and I was scared to dive so I had this brilliant idea of writing an excuse letter which I signed in her name. When I got home that day, she sat me down and spoke to me about dishonesty. Her message was simply nothing goes unpunished, that the truth will always come out so it is pointless to lie or conceal evidence of any wrongdoing. Needless to say I learned how to swim. Between diving in the deep end and my mom’s wrath, I was more scared of mom.
4. My easygoing demeanor - my mom is super patient and very tolerant. When we were kids, I think she was the perfect, quiet counterpoint to my dad’s crotchety parenting. I think I learned how to listen and more importantly how to try to understand where the other person was coming from from her.
Mom - thank you for being cool and fair and generous. I am sorry for all the times I seem impatient and annoyed when you ask me things. Yes, you sometimes nag but I know that you just want the best for us. With all the praying that you do on my/our behalf, I am sure I’ve earned 3 and a half slots in heaven already. We owe you so much.
Mama Nens (Mom#2) - thank you for allowing Karen to go out with me. And thank you for welcoming me to the Camus-Reodica family.
Karen (Mother of my children) - have a safe trip to HK later. Don’t forget to buy batteries there. Oh, and thank you for harmonizing your work and home life. I know being away on a regular basis is not easy and I am amazed at how you take it all on. The dessert you made yesterday was yummy, by the way.
To everyone else: love your mothers. Don’t wait till the second Sunday of May to show how much you appreciate them. Try to thank them as often as you can. I think one of the best ways to show them your love is to be the best person you can be. Excel. Actualize your full potential. Do your best to be good. Ultimately, that’s what every mother / parent wants her child to be.
Also remember that your mom is human, too. We have a tendency to either vilify or deify our mothers. Your mom is not an old nagging crone out to make your life miserable. She just wants the best for you and is just using her years of experience to help you avoid the mistakes she made. Neither is she a floating deity incapable of doing anything wrong. Your mom’s capacity for patience and love - while boundless - needs replenishing from time to time. We need to let her rest and cut her some slack. You have to realize your mom is someone’s daughter, too. Sometime ago, your mom probably smoked and wore mini-skirts and go-go boots.
(No Mom, I will not upload the photos of you smoking while wearing your mini-skirt and go-go boots.)
