My mummy

Yesterday was mum's birthday. I stayed home with her the whole day to keep her company. After all, I don't get much opportunity to spend time with her. We watched the matinee of Forbidden City with my brother and headed for dinner after that. Then came back home cos they wanted to catch a soccer match!

Yes, mum has changed much since the mum I knew ten years ago. She has taken a liking to rearing plants instead of dogs, and watches soccer instead of soap operas. As a birthday gift for herself, she bought a book, "1001 Singapore plants". She even influenced my neighbour to rear plants, and now they have a mini community of plant lovers along my corridor... They even got the kids interested in the plants! One day, one of my neighbour's kids came running to my mum asking her to revive his dying balsam plant.. Of course, mum took pride in being the new resident plant doctor!

Mum sleeps in early so she can wake up in the middle of the night to watch soccer with my brother - right through the World Cup season and now with the EPL coming up, she's at it again. She speaks with her fellow salesmen at her work place about matches and soccer players as if she were a pro. She even had her own Dream Team during the World Cup! And with my brother, they shout, scream, scold and cheer their team on - right in the middle of the night while I snooze in dream land wondering how one can be so excited about 24 men on a green pitch with a white ball.

Yet, she remains my cool mum who plays with teddy bears and makes friends with my friends. She even goes on trips with them without me! So it was of no surprise that yesterday's string of smses came from my friends to her.. and she replied them cheekily as if they were her friends!

Yup, you can say I love my mum tremendously. She's gone through so much in life and I think she did a pretty decent job of bringing my brother and I up well even though we were left alone to fend for ourselves most of our teenage lives. Her constant reminder to remain positive and to pray has been so ingrained in me that til today, I still live up to what she taught me.

She's fought battles with me during my growing up years as I insisted on my way of doing things. And though she didn't always agree with what I had in mind, she always supported what I wanted to do. And even if I made a mistake with my decision, she never did once say, "I told you so." Instead, she'd just support me back to where it would be safer and where it would make her heart less worried.

Til today, I continue to shock my mum with sudden impulse decisions. But she's beginning to get used to the fact that her 31-year old daughter is all grown up, and knows how to find her way back somehow. She knows that I'm that independent one the family who likes to venture out. She once told me, "You know, if I die, I won't be worried about you cos you're street smart. You'll survive." Ha.. Thanks, mum.. (i.e. Unlike my brother, I am not study-smart!)

She nags at me for not being able to keep still and always finding extra work to do - like volunteering in church or doing design work for friends, or planning weddings and surprise birthday parties. I smile and I tell her I'm a reflection of her and she knows I'm right. All I am and all I've learnt, I've learnt from her.

Mum's wonderful, and I think I'm one lucky child to have my mum as my mum. I couldn't ask for more!

:)