Motherhood And Memories Of My Mother

For a mother every living day is a special day and yet as Mother’s Day comes around every year, nostalgia take over and I start taking a trip down memory lane. Sweet memories of my childhood home, the adjoining houses, the vast greenery, the simple pleasures of getting around the kitchen table to enjoy a soup or a “shorba” come flooding over me.

Everything felt so ordinary at that time and like any other school kid I just assumed that mothers were meant to be waiting with hot and nourishing food when we came back home from school, playing or visiting friends. No matter how delicious the food was or how appetizing it all looked, my siblings and I ate hungrily but quickly, eager to to embark on more interesting pastimes. I don’t remember a single occasion when Mom complained about us being ungrateful or thankless or selfish. She was more than delighted that we had polished off what she cooked and were well fed and satisfied. But was that enough?

Today, as I wait eagerly for my son to taste the first bite of the appetizing chocolate cake that takes just a few minutes to bake and is neither nutritious nor healthy, the motherly instinct in me waits to see that twinkle in his eye, when he says, “Mom, you are the best cook in the world,” or “Hey Mom…that’s a cool piece of cake.”

I sincerely think that I’d probably sulk the whole day if my son walked off with that piece of cake without acknowledging the love and affection that I blended into it.

Whoa…! I am at least a thousand degrees away from being the world’s best cook and I put in very little effort into that cake compared to my mom’s hard work when she prepared our meals and desserts. I cook for one little pixie once in a week and yet I expect to be acknowledged for my unswerving devotion and culinary skills. Am I being real ?

This simple realization was big enough to bring tears into my eyes; for today my mom rests in peace and there is no way I can go back to her and say those few words which she never expected but truly deserved, “Thank you mom.”

If I could, I would and not just for the food that she cooked but rather for being the “best mom in the world.” Needless to add, I miss my mother but I am glad that I loved her enough and she knew that and enjoyed those special moments that we shared. Whenever Mother’s Day comes around, I warm up to the snug feeling of being watched, cared for and loved by mom from her celestial abode.

But no one should wait for Mother’s Day to say, “Thank you” to his or her mother for her unselfish devotion and love. Every mom, whether she is a good cook or not, has given a part of herself to us and should be honoured every day with love, gratitude and respect.