Motherly touch

Bismillah.

My mother
at the Malay Heritage Center Singapore, April 2011

"Jagalah warisan kita kekal abadi buat selamanya.
'Preserve our heritage for the longest time',

My mother is my rock! When we are among strangers, she is not so chatty, she speaks only when necessary but she speaks her mind a lot when in private. She is in control of the TV remote and she flips the channels continually in search of news. She is obsessed with the world's news.

Singapore is special to her as she had spent several years there as a young wife and mother. So it's understandable that she decided to pen something on that white board at the Malay Heritage Center. She cares about things that some people might not expect from one who received little education. She only had just about six years of formal education but her aura is bigger than that. Some people thought she was a school headmistress. There were many times when she visited my siblings' schools, students would just stop chatting when she walked past them and greet her 'Good morning teacher!'

Needless to say, I owe her a lot! If I could pick one thing she does which I appreciate the most is that she always give me the freedom to go learn anything from anyone. It does not bother her that I would come home late after my religious classes. She said, 'We have to learn from as many guides as we could.'

She spared me from cooking. (Luckily I inherit her natural cooking instincts!) She would let me focus on whatever I am inclined to do like reading and writing. Because I am single and I am the only one who sticks by her since her husband passed away in 1995, we end up doing plenty of things together. While other woman gets to hold their man's hand while walking at the mall, you will see me holding on to her waist often when we are out and about. By far one of our best outings was the six months spent in Scotland circa 2005. Alhamdulillah, we have travelled to quite a few countries together.

My first lines of du'a after each solat is so that Allah will help me be a better daughter to her, so that I could give her a better life and that I could make her happier.

May Allah let her live for the longest time with the best of health and happiness. And I wish the same for all mothers out there.

I also wish to take this opportunity to record my admiration towards a close friend who has devoted his life to single handedly care for his children. While other men would rush to find a new mother for his children, he chose to be a full time 'mother' to them - cooking, washing, driving, teaching, you name it. Really, my heart goes out to children like his. I wonder with sadness how they would feel when the whole world brag about their mothers.

So let us all be thankful for all the motherly love that we've got. Alhamdulillah wa shukru lillah.

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