Mama saya

Today's Mother's Day. I didn't wish my Ma, because I don't need a special day to be reminded of how much Ma means to me...and I hope Ma agrees with me and wasn't really hoping to be wished...! :)

Jokes aside, my parents and two of my siblings have been around the East Coast area during the weekend. They've been seeing Tok and Tok Ayah, some other relatives, their besan in Panji yadayadayada. They've just left my house this morning and I hope my directions to the Lebuhraya Pantai Timur was clear enough to get them home sometime today.

Anyhow, each time I've had to say goodbye to my parents have been harder; be it me leaving for the East Coast after a holiday in KL or vice versa, and they were here only for a night but the silence post visit is already bumming me out. Since I've already watched the particular CSI episode currently on channel 17, I have to be content with Aznil and Accapan instead.

Ma's life history is colourful, to say the least and I know she hasn't any regrets because of that that she is the person she is now. Moreover, it's because of it that she has raised us 6 kids so wonderfully.

I remember when I was younger, Ma and Pa would have long conversations in English, discussing what happened at work, with friends. Strangely enough, I don't hear them doing that as much nowadays, but that has laid foundations for us being bilingual (I was even trilingual at one time, but Cantonese went out the window once I joined Primary One).

Ma used to work in a bank (and can still count money notes like a pro) and one of the most clear memories I have of her back then was her coming back from work with Pa in his Peugot, her hands covered in melting ice cream because she was bringing back ice cream cones for us.

As I got bigger (vertically as well as horizontally, I might add), there were more memories to add to that. Happy ones and not-so-happy ones. Ma crying as she left me at MRSM, Ma laughing as she patted this huge but tame pelican at Regent's Park in London, Ma worrying as I introduced Abang to her for the first time....

I know I'd made her cry; I guess all children do that at one time or another in their lives. I hope the times I made her happy outnumbered the sad ones and I hope that she is happy with the way I finally turned out, albeit I think she is still unhappy with the fact that Nadiah Hannah is still cousinless...:)

Ma, I love you...