HPB Voices Reloaded
May - June 2007
Honour your mothers & fathers...
Read about their mothers : Anizah| Andrea| Eugene| Rachel
Read about their fathers : Alan| Renuga| Veronica
Eugene Heng (Tertiary Institutions Outreach/YHD):
Time has mellowed my mother’s temperament over the years, and along with the ravages that age brings to one’s appearance, she looks less of a forbidding matriarch. Her wrath wasn’t something I relished in my younger days and her rules were dutifully abided except for occasions when a mischievous disposition rendered me to do otherwise.
It is not in her nature to yield to my whims and fancy, and this has instilled a discipline in me that might otherwise be missing, although it took me years to understand her means of strict guidance. From her, I also picked up the virtue of thrift, which taught me, since my awareness of money came about, the importance of financial prudence.
Etched most in my mind is the unconditional care and concern she showered upon me every time I was down or unwell. Her love for me during my times of distress and malady, of soothing ‘liang-tehs’ and nutritious fish porridge, is humbling and sets the yardstick by which I now care for my own child.
Atypical tribute that this write-up might come across, but that’s just what my mum has been to me, a groovy kind of love.
Rachel Ngo (Smoking control, AHD)
At 14, I was like many of my friends - infallible (or at least we think we are...), angst driven, argumentative and rely mainly on 3 things for survival - Computer, Telephone and Television.
The only 'kins' were my friends in school. In one of those days that passed too quickly, I often forgot the one most important person who nurtured me from a little soul. Someone who takes care of me and puts me above anything else in her world; ensures that I have an extra blanket at night when I'm cold, makes Milo for me in the morning when I go to school (and coffee now that I am working), and walks me to the bus interchange every morning at 6 am just to ensure that I am safe and sound. Yes, that's my mother - one of the most endearing creature in this universe and perhaps the most loving person that I've known in my life.
I only realised her love for me one day when I was out with friends. Like lightning, it struck me that mum's cooking was much better than these burgers and fries. I ran home that day, hugged my mum and thanked her for cooking for me and loving me the way she did. Strangely, my mum thought I was into some kind of trouble… she must have thought what I did was unbelievable.
Unimaginable as it sounds, I started appreciating the little things that my mum does for me every day. The big and small sacrifices cannot never be matched by the things that I do for her in return. This little sharing is just one small way for me to pay tribute to my mother. To all the mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day to you! To those of us who are daughters and sons, tell your mother how special she is in this world!
And to my mother, thank you mummy. Happy Mother's Day to you!