Mother’s Day - Reminisced

A chain of experiences on mother’s day celebrations are only for those who have received bonus years in life. I can claim it. I have supporting evidence to present. Do you have one too? Come on, present your senior citizen ID and claim discount only in the Philippines.

Ever since technology controlled most of our waking moments, greetings on mother’s day became so effortless and practical. Presents and gifts just abound in various forms and prices. Places to go for a private celebration (that is, amidst the crowd) are making good business this particular day. The haves and the have not’s show a glaring disparity in the celebration.

But is the love we have for our mothers different from then and now, from the moneyed and  financial strugglers, from the  eloquent and the taciturn? Let us figure this out.

On this particular mom’s day my cell phone kept on ringing and the net was always open to receive greetings and messages from family, friends, former students and relatives from all parts of the globe. Ahh, braggart! You may say.  Maybe yes, if I said this two decades ago, but now its reality that the globe is one big village. From Florida, Canada, Abu Dhabi, Japan and the Philippines came the greetings. Then from the United Kingdom came my daughter’s message, typical of a mother too. From Singapore, my youngest son posted two lines replete with wonderful meanings beyond the lines. I was so absorbed with these messages when my second son came with his wife. He was not gifted with words so his wife did the greeting for him. He invited me and his father to dine out to celebrate the occasion.  That was his way of showing his love.

The gestures of my children were so heart warming and I thank them for that. I returned back to my computer to read more messages. My sister from Italy just posted, “Happy Mother’s Day to my Mother in Heaven”.

I immediately pressed “like” and started to make my comments. I typed two words but stopped; my eyes were blurred with tears.  I left the computer and turned to the TV set to while away the time I was in low ebb. But underneath the glass of the center table, front of the TV set  was a 50 year old  chinaware I gave my Mom one mother’s day. I was a student then. I was supposed to buy school materials out of my allowance but I spotted this among the souvenirs. I bought it and scrimped on my daily needs. I now forgot how I sent it  to my mother, but when I arrived home  from the city where I was studying, I saw my  gift  hanging on the wall.

Seven years after, our house by the river bank, filled with memories of childhood was dismantled because of a big flood that was overflowing the river bed and soil erosion was so devastating, it has destroyed houses along the bank. Out of the dismantled building material, my father made a temporary shelter in the middle of our seven hectare farm lot, and this chinaware was hidden from view.

They improved the house; made it semi-concrete and my gift was again proudly displayed on the wall in the living room. Seven years later, my mother died, and the first thing I got hold was this chinaware I bought for her. I was questioning God why He took my mother so soon when in that gift was the line which says “Long life to her, For there’s no other, Can take the place of my dear mother”. That was why I bought it for her.

 

My siblings got her bag and rummage for money while I look for other things. Then in a zipped pocket of the bag I got a folded paper. When I opened it I read a poem I wrote for her 14 years ago on one Mother’s day. I kept it including her letters to me up to this day.

I cannot explain how happy she was with my gestures not until I had my own children who accorded me in their own different way with gratitude and praise for being a mother to them.

Oh, mother’s day celebrations that have gone by! What bitter sweet memories have you given me to treasure!