Everyone told me not to worry too much when I found out about my pregnancy. They said as we humans are natural learners, I will know what to do when the child is born. But what they didn’t tell me was how hard it was to be a parent.
All the sacrifices made and time invested in our child ….
After being a mother for over 20 years and still counting, I would never exchange the experience of becoming one. Yes, the children may take away your freedom. But, after seeing your children grown up and living life successfully, it is a reward to all mothers, and for me, I know that I have raised my children well.
My first born was a daughter and after two years I was blessed with another daughter. Handling two kids was never an easy task. Nevertheless, I vowed to give my daughters the best despite all the shortcomings.
I was the world to them. They trusted me for everything. They have taught me how to be responsible and patient. Becoming a mother is a neverending process which teaches me more than I can imagine even after 20 years or so.
One incident in particular taught me that mothers are the greatest people in the world because we would do anything for our children even when they are already adults.
When my daughters were aged four and six years old, the cartoon series Ninja Turtles was at its peak of popularity. While we were window shopping at one of the shopping complexes, we came across the Ninja Turtle mascot. The shop was having some sort of promotion and there were lots of goodies up for grabs.
My daughters’ eyes lit up when they saw the mascot. And so the chase began. The mascot was walking all over the complex to give away goodies. Not wanting to disappoint my daughters, I chased after the mascot to let my daughters experience a moment of happiness with their favourite cartoon character.
However, the moment they were so close to their favourite cartoon character, my youngest cried. After all the chasing, I then realised she was afraid of that big green walking turtle. We managed to coax her to take a picture and once she had her goodie bag, all was forgotten. She was no longer afraid of the big green turtle because she had her goodie bag which was all that mattered.
Fast forward to 20 years later when I find myself chasing after Shrek, Woody Woodpecker and the Madagascar characters whom my youngest daughter adores so much. This is when I knew, even if my daughters are 23 and 25 years old, I can never stop providing for them like when they were little. And then I’ll start to wonder when will I ever retire from the greatest job in the world.
Teoh Sok Em
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