Thanks Ma!

Yesterday was my mum's birthday... =) She wasn't in Singapore, so thought I'll pen a little tribute to her. (She brought a group of tourists to India.)

My mum's easily the most important woman in my life.

Needless to say, she was the one who brought me here, for which I'm really thankful. I've lived so many good years because of her. But more than that, she was the one who nurtured me with constant love, and she still does.

When I was just a little toddler, my mum would literally chase me around to feed me. (My stroller was my sports car then, so my mum must have had very good exercise... =p) And at the end of it all, when I was down to my last mouthful, I'd vomit up *everything* that I tried to consume in the past hour or two. Must have really driven my mum up the wall...

A little older, my mum became my teacher. In fact, she'd cover my syllabus way before my teachers started on them, and would give me more assessments than my all teachers had put together. She'll give me little incentives when I did well, and made studying interesting for me. In fact, I was memorising multiplication tables when people were still adding, and if I didn't remember wrongly, I finished my whole year's worth of homework in my school holidays. =p This gave me an early head start in life - I started off well, and this momentum carried me through all of my studying years. It taught me that if you put your heart into it, doing well in your studies is not hard, and can be fun!

My mum used to bring me to the library once every three weeks or so when I was young, and we would borrow many many books home (24 at one go). This cultivated my interest in reading, and helped me build up on my language and reasoning skills from a young age. I had far less struggles with language than most people had, and it all boils down to this foundation that I had.

My mum also taught me discipline and responsibility as a young child. I always had harsher punishment than my siblings, although we did the same wrong things together, and I always felt that this was unfair. They would explain that I was more senior and should lead by example (which at that age was incomprehensible to me). I started taking responsibility for me and my sibling at a young age, and this was fundamental to the roles I played in leadership in later years.

My mum also taught me what love and sacrifice is (although I didn't quite understand it then). There would always be someone to wake me up early in the morning (she used to wake up at 530am), pack my school bag and prepare a hot breakfast for me which I would grudgingly eat. She'll prepare bread with kaya/butter/peanut butter for my recess break, and for a couple of months at least, I would throw the bread away and use my pocket money to buy snacks. I threw away her love, and it pains me now when I think of it.

Then I grew up, and I sort of mixed with the wrong company. There were a few years in my teenage years when I was a little defiant, but never once gave up on me. There were times when I did not love and cherish her as much as I should have, and times when I prized other girls above her, but she kept showering her love on me.

I remember when my first relationship failed, I was left in pieces. My mum even went out to try to help me out with that relationship. (Actually she made things worse, but she did it out of a good heart to protect me; No one could have saved that relationship then anyway.) My mum showed me there's still love at home, and my family would always be there to support me. She welcomed me back to her fold like a lost sheep that went wandering and decided to return home, and helped me pick up the pieces. It wasn't easy. I didn't like staying at home then, and I nearly totally left out my family out of my life. So much for being an example huh? (I have since repented. And my siblings, if you are reading this, I truly, honestly, sincerely love you guys!)

It's really amazing how much love a mother can have for a child. I really appreciate everything she's done for me these years.

THANK YOU MA! I LOVE YOU! =)

Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. (Prov 31:10, NKJV)

PS: Sorry, I didn't expect this to be so long when I started. Things just kept coming I guess... =P