Mom,
Today I missed you. When the maid was cleaning the kitchen, I wanted to say your exact words, 'Do the glasses first.' I realized how much I behave like you. Those little habits that irked me while growing up are a part of me now. Some say I am your replica. I feel proud to hear that but at the same time I know I am not half as good as you are.
We kids never realize what our mothers do till we are placed in the same spot. We bask happily under your shadow, making excuses for almost everything. I discuss it with my friends how our mothers did everything without cribbing and always with a smile. Is something wrong with our generation or I have to be a mother to understand the generosity of this word?
I remember the day when there was flood in Ambala. We were sipping coffee on that beautiful rainy day. Out of nowhere, in just 20 minutes, our house was half submerged. You panicked. We started arranging furniture, throwing things on top of closets and saving whatever we could. The way you were behaving, I thought why were you over-reacting? There was nothing more we could have done. I thought, I was quite composed and you were hysterical.
It took me many years to understand why you behaved like that. When you dedicate your life to your family, your house is your temple. You preserve each of the materialistic things. Each item is a token of their presence, their memories and their love. That's the reason first you took all the framed pictures and kept it on a top shelf of the closet. They meant more than a costly show-piece kept adjacent to those pictures. You knew how to place value. I just labelled things.
It taught me the importance of home. I understood when a mother picks up her child's trophy when half of her costly belongings are perishing in water, she knows how upset her child would be when she won't find it. She knows what to protect. You were not hysterical, you were trying to protect as many memories as you could. I was unaffected as I only placed monetary value to it. I was composed as I never realized how far a mother could think for her child's happiness. To put it in a single sentence - I was not a mother.
When we were hit by super storm Sandy last year, I did my best to protect my home and my family. I knew what was needed. Now, I know how to place value on things. Thanks to you!
When I look back at my growing up days, I feel happy. I was brought up by such a wonderful person who not only taught me the basics of life but made me into a strong independent woman. For my successful marriage when people give credit to me, the credit automatically goes to you. Above everything else you made me a better person.
Here's a poem I've written for you:
From crawling till walking,
From humming till talking,
From taking my worries when I moan,
To listening to my problems on the phone,
I thank 'mom' for all these times,
She is the symphony in my rhymes.
Forgot few things a child's eye would miss,
She cut her finger deliberating on my favorite dish.
She kept quite when boss shouted for being late,
She had a lot to calculate.
I kept quiet on all these things,
She is a 'hero' whose praise no one sings.
She begged the doctors; even the nurses for me,
She prayed for my success bending on her knees.
She hardly slept when I was a baby,
She groomed me into a fine lady.
I should payback her; in a way she would agree,
For that I have to be a mother as good as 'she.'
Hope you like it.
Love,
Saru
P.S. Please throw my purple frock which you saved from flood. I hate it, my friends called me brinjal whenever I wore it.
***********************
‘I am writing a Tribute to Mom in association with Parentous.com'
