And because it’s International Women’s Month, allow me the privilege to honor who I consider is the epitome of what an international woman really is (both literally and uhm, figuratively). Well it’s none other than my mom. Me doing this by the way is a rarity, in fact this is the very first time.
I have always been overly proud of my mom – in a secretive kind of way. I haven’t really praised her out loud, in the open and to other people because it’s just not me and neither do I want it to get into her head. Besides, she gets a regular dose of accolades (and jealousy) from her peers. She is distinguished within the realm of the academe. I’d say she is a superstar in her own right. On many evenings, we grew up with stories of struggle and perseverance of her youth. At one point, we (my siblings) orchestrated our little ways of escaping the dinner table because it was the same story over and over again. Imagine your mom reading to you Cinderella every night of your young life for say 10 years? Although at times, she did manage to add twists of surprise out from the very mundane of things – only to deliver a point and to keep us interested for a few minutes. But now that I’m an adult and had been away, it’s just recent that I’ve really understood what she was trying to tell us. It was just a couple of nights ago during dinner that I heard again her life stories and I kept on thinking that if only I listened, I would’ve become as successful or accomplished as she is now.
She went through a hard life – that was always her point. Losing her mother at fourteen, her father became depressive, one brother became alcoholic and the family business along with their saved fortunes went awash by life’s ebbing current. But it never was a hindrance for her to pursue her goals. I’ve always kid her about having a soap opera kind of life but I’ve always understood why she is meticulous, perfectionist and workaholic. I’ve always understood that her reason for her later frequent leaving was because she didn’t want us to experience what she did. She was trying to make our lives different from hers: well-provided and smooth. But sometimes, I fail to understand her insatiable thirst for knowledge. She’d left us for months for trainings, seminars and researches abroad. She was pregnant with my brother when she was traversing her way through the forests of Australia. She was in the outskirts of Jakarta when I was awarded with honors in second grade. For years, she was finishing her doctorate in Malaysia while I was intentionally flunking subjects in high school. She wasn’t there in certain milestones of my life. But I never have even an ounce of resentment because she had always made up for her absence. An amusing memory is that while abroad, she made it a habit to call every other day and when she comes back, she brings with her a collection of phonecards, hundreds of them and in one shoebox.
Today, my mom is where she rightfully deserves to be: the highest-ranking professor (and among the few highest-paid) in the state university she has been attached to for decades. Outside school, she leads a non-government team of environmentalists, conducts lectures and consultancy work, hold livelihood assistance forums to impoverished mothers who were victims of the recent typhoon while also leading various activities in church and elsewhere. She does all that while still being able to make sure that there’s enough groceries for the month, food on the table every meal, dusts wherever on the house being wiped-off and the toilet squeaky clean and free. But she always had a life of multi-tasking. I remember she (and my dad) put up a business of a boarding house with 90 plus residents, ensuring their every meal while taking care of then toddler me and my sister at the same time finishing her master’s degree. Later on, they put up a textile business and had my dad stop in the military and paid for his tuition to finish college. She had ever since prioritized education. That all being said, despite her humility,I will proudly claim how great my mom is.
International Woman – Although I know that this month’s celebration is in a different context, I believe that such title serves her just right: For being well-traveled in 14 countries and for having been shortlisted for an Ivy-league school in the US and for just being everything.
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| Mom in Paris |
And mom, if you stumble on this blog and read this (which I’ll ensure won’t happen), please say NO to some commitments. You’re not 20 anymore for crying out loud! And what the hell is up with your recent administrative promotion for the nth time? So I guess you’re really not stopping huh? Then slow down a bit, okay? Don’t let this post bloat your ego and consider this as your birthday and mother's day post, too.
- From your secretly can’t-be-anymore-prouder son.
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S MONTH! - All of you would probably soon be great mothers!
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