Kai Wen says although her mum, Paisy is not as highly-educated as her, she never stops learning and has become her walking encyclopedia.
Kai Wen wrote:
"Mother’s Day is coming, and every year, I will make handmade gifts for my mum. This year, I have decided to do something special for her, which is to share my love for my mum by participating in the Stomp’s Top Mum Awards 2012. I do not have 'WOW', unforgettable or really touching stories to share, but I think my mum rightfully deserves to be the TOP mum in the eyes of her children, just like all the other great mothers. As such, I decided to share how my mum has been so important to me in my life.
"My mum plays multiple roles in my life. She is my confidante, motivator, shopping kaki, walking encyclopedia, pillar of support and the woman whom I respected the most. She is just like my wonder woman who will save me from any difficulties or hard situation. To me, she is the strongest woman I have ever seen.
"I have been very close to my mum because the elderly in my family were rather patriarchal in the past. I have a twin elder brother and a younger brother, and I am the only girl among my siblings. I always complain to my mum how much I hope for a sister. I always hear about how my friends just could not communicate with their mum. It's not that she does not nag at me, she does nag at times, but to me, my mum is just like my da jie jie (big sister), someone whom I can communicate comfortably with. She hardly portrays the authoritative figure, only during times when she needed to. She always strikes a balance in her parenting style. She is full of jokes and cranky. She can be really funny and 'lame' at times. I am very comfortable in confiding most of my problems to her, be it school-related, work-related or even my personal life issues. My mum would always give me constructive advices and guide me from being a lost sheep to knowing what I want. I enjoy chatting with my mum over many issues and starting debate sessions with her. Our conversations always leave me with many perspectives in viewing the issues. She never fails to guide me towards the right direction. She is also very supportive of my decisions since young, and allows me to choose and do what I want. She taught me to be independent and responsible for my choices. Without her support, I won’t be able to make it this far, and believe in myself that I have the capabilities to achieve so many things. Most of the time, it was her encouragement that guided me through all my agony and the moments when I wanted to give up.
"There was once when I was so heartbroken and the first person I called was my mum. Despite being busy with her work, she tried her very best to rush home as soon as possible and the moment she opened the door, she came over and gave the teary me a big hug. At that moment, I realized my fear and sadness were gone, her hug was the safest and warmest thing I had ever felt. I knew, at that moment no matter what happened, my mum would always be there for me and be my pillar of support.
"Being a busy woman, it does not give her any excuses to be absent from our development and achievement. She would take leaves to attend all my prize ceremonies, school performances and graduation ceremonies. During my polytechnic graduation, I joked about why she did not present me with a bouquet of flowers. She told me that she was heading back to work with my dad but she actually rushed over to Singapore Polytechnic with a large bouquet of sunflowers and a graduation bear to surprise me. I was so touched that my eyes became watery. She never disappoints me ever in my life. Even during my exams, she would send me a message just to wish me luck.
"My mum is not highly educated because she was not given a chance to attend school when she was young. Being one of the eldest children at home, she had to work and help to shoulder the financial burden of her family. She only had her education until Secondary 2. However, she has surpassed me who has undergone so many years of education in terms of the amount of knowledge. She is my walking encyclopedia, just like my personal Google website. She impresses me with the amount of knowledge she has. She enlightens me with her guidance and I like to discuss my school assignments with her and gather her feedback. She seems to know almost EVERYTHING. I admire her attitude for not stopping to learn. She studied on her own and took part in N level and even O level language examination. I respect her eagerness to learn and it inspires me to treasure the chance I have for being able to study. Many people also like to seek my mum for advices and feedback. She is well-respected by many people.
"Other than hanging out with my friends, I spend my time with my mum most of the times. We would always date each other out for meals, movies and shopping. She is my best shopping kaki, as I would always ask her for opinions and most of the times, she will offer to pay for my shopping spree. Both of us are emotional creatures and we would always laugh at each other for tearing during the movies. We are going to have a short trip together next week to the place where my mum was born, just both of us.
"During a Mother's Day a few years back, my siblings and I bought her a cup and a heart-shaped soft toy that I thought she could use it at her workplace. However, I quarrelled with my siblings for not being concerned about Mother's Day and causing me to take up all the responsibility of getting the things. My mum got so upset that she returned us the gifts and said, 'Don’t need to buy anything or celebrate Mother's Day in future.' She walked into her room with tears of disappointment. At that moment, we were so lost and regretted quarrelling over this small issue. That was the saddest Mother's Day and we promised not to give her anymore unhappy days. To our mother, it was not the quarrel that upset her but the disunity among us. She wants her children to live in harmony together, work together and maintain a healthy and positive relationship. I love my siblings just like how much they love me. She is still using the cup that we bought for her.
"My mum is the strongest woman I have ever seen. I always call her a man, because she is so masculine, not her body but her mind and attitude. Although I know that she has been under a lot of pressure and stress all these while (my family is not very well to do), she hardly breaks down in front of us. She is always positive and believes that there's a will, there's a way. The strongest person needs to let out her emotions as well. She is a very family-oriented person. My grandfather passed away peacefully during Father's Day last year, it was very sudden and shocking and I knew my mum really missed my grandfather a lot. There were many times I caught her tearing when she though about my grandfather. All I could do was to give her a hug as I was bad at consoling people especially when they cried. My grandfather’s death also taught me many valuable lessons. I learned to appreciate my family and spend more times with my parents when they are still around. My grandfather left us and taught us to always stay united and deal with problems together as a family and maintain a harmonious relationship with one another. Family should always be together.
"I have matured a lot over the years. If not for my mum, I guess I would still be forever living in my own world. I've learnt many valuable lessons, and achieved more than I could ever dream of. I would like to thank my Buddha for giving me such a hero in my life. I just want to end my post with a short message to my mum:
"Dear Mummy,
Thank you so much for your unconditional love for the past 21 years, for nurturing and accepting me for who I am although I'm not a perfect daughter I wish I could be! I feel so blessed to be your 'Bao Bei' and to have such a perfect love from you. You are my wonder woman and forever my heroine! Thank you for not giving up on me whenever I wanted to give up on myself when I thought the world was against me. I want to wish you a Happy Mother's Day! I love you many many many!
With Loves,
Kiwi<3"
Prizes are sponsored by Aramsa Spa and Concorde Hotel.
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