Mother's Day, from the heart

The sacrifices and unconditional love of a mother are often understated. Mums deserve affection and appreciation, not just on Mother's Day, but every day of the year

Happy Mother's Day (March 21) to all mums reading this. More than the day, it is the warmth and love shared by women all over the world that makes this day special. I miss my mother who left us on October 28, 2010. It is difficult not having her around. It was during the final stages in her life that we, her children, came to understand and value the difference she made in the lives of so many other people. Her associates and friends came to the hospital to see her and pay their respects a little before she passed away.
"My association with your mum started with the delivery of my first child," this aunt told us.
"Your mother helped us a lot when my brother broke his hand in an accident and was hospitalised," said another.
"Your mum is like my mum," another friend told us. "Without her nursing care, I would not have been alive now."
With more than 30 years in her nursing career, she had touched many lives outside the home, and they remembered her services with so much love and affection.
She had no time to share her daily experiences in the hospital with us nor did she want to be appreciated for the services that she did. She felt it was her duty as a nurse to be in the service of others. At home, she would make sure that our needs were taken care of, we got nutritious food, nursed us tenderly when we fell sick and supervised our schoolwork as well. She would come to meet our teachers at school to make sure that we did well academically. All the effort she put in was taken for granted by us, her kids.
I realised my folly when I became a mother myself. I realised a mother is always a mother. Her love is truly unconditional. Even though words could be harsh, she had silently put up with our teenage tantrums. She was concerned that we got good partners in life and was worried about our health. She did not mind sacrificing her sleep to babysit her grandchildren. Her life was one of total sacrifice where her needs got the least priority.
Those were those days.
Bringing up two children myself was another aspect to motherhood. The joy of holding your firstborn in your arms, nursing the babies, watching them go through the different stages of life, all this and more were fulfilling experiences. Inexperienced in every way, I learnt as I went along. In the early years, the child's world revolves around the mother. I remember my son telling me, "You're the most beautiful mum in the world." I can still feel the warmth of those hugs and the feelings those innocent words evoked in me at that time. They made me feel extra special, made all the efforts of being a mother worth the while.
My boys are 30 and 25, both working in Dubai. The feeling of having done my duty as a mother is truly satisfying, and my heart overflows with gratitude to the Almighty. Now I have two beautiful additions to the family, my daughters, who add laughter to our home and show us what I missed not having a daughter all these years. Last year, I was blessed with a grandson. He is ten months old and I am reliving my motherhood with him. The way he looks into my eyes as I sing to him is priceless. He is such a bundle of joy. The unconditional love of a mother is so precious. Those of you who are blessed to have your mothers with you, make sure you make them feel extra special not only on Mother's Day but every day of their lives.
- suchitra@khaleejtimes.com

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