Mom's the word

Sometimes we just forget about old-fashioned ways of doing things, don't we?

So when Dad said he can't receive .jpeg files via email anymore, Mom was very sad that she could not see any pictures of how baby Aish is growing up. They don't want to get a computer at home yet because they dunno much about them. She said she wondered when she would be able to see Aish next. I asked her to come visit me so she could see Aish every day via webcam like I do. It did not strike me for the longest time that all I had to do was go to the Kodak shop, get the latest pictures of Aish printed and post them to Mom! I only thought of it when I got some 'Mother's Day' flyer in the mail, and saw all the standard Mother's Day gift ideas that made me wanna hurl. They also made me scrap my original idea of sending roses like every year, and send her a collection of Baby Aish's latest photos instead.

The best thing is that the envelope reached Dad's office just yesterday! I'd already emailed him to tell him not to open it, but to give it to her today. This morning, when I spoke to her, she was ecstatic! She said it was a total surprise because she'd really been missing Aish and had thought that the next time she saw Aish would be when she'd already be going to school.

In the last few weeks of being at home, I've felt closer to Mom than I ever have. Perhaps because I've been performing the roles of a wife, a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law, a homemaker, just like her. I'm joining my new job end of this month, till then I've been working hard trying to set up 'home and hearth'. And every single day, I learn a little bit more about home management. And most of it comes from my memories of how she used to manage our home.

In those days, the more respectable term 'home-maker' was rarely used. Mom had been a 'housewife' for me all my childhood. And yet, I never saw any regret in her about giving up her job offer as a university lecturer and staying at home to take care of us.

But me - I've had many many regrets.

I regret not being much of a help to her at home, refusing to eat greens, being lazy and stubborn, for wanting to watch TV all day long during holidays (there was no Internet at home in those days, otherwise I'd be blogging and youtube-ing all day), yelling at her, slamming doors, cribbing when asked to run an errand, thinking that good grades in school were my ticket out of housework, never learning to cook till I lived on my own and absolutely had to, being so difficult at times, and using tears as a counter-argument. Today, when people compliment my cooking, I think of all the times when I hung around the kitchen, never to help or learn, but to tell her what happened at school. I guess some things I subconsciously observed registered themselves for life because I remember them so well even now! But then I think of how much better a cook I would have been, if I had just shown some interest, if I'd just listened, if I'd just helped.

Today when I look back, and I think of all the things she said or did, followed by a "It's all for your own good." I understand. In those days, it was the most annoying statement ever, but now I know exactly what she meant.

Lately, the guilt has been really really getting to me. It would have taken so little to make her life so much easier. But I didn't.

Now that realisation has thwacked me on the head with the back of a non-stick saucepan, I can only hope to make up for all of it in the years to come.

I end with this particular video of the week (hat tip: Raam Pyari) because I hope this kid - though terribly cute - does not continue the argument when she grows up.



Video courtesy yarab85

Mom knows best. You never argue with Mom.