May 10, 2020 – Sunday
Today is Mother’s Day and I have been thinking about what to write in my blog the whole day. Should I honor my mom who passed away two years ago or should I write about how this period in history is impacting what it means to be a mother?
I will do both.
My mom was a teacher and loved being one. She was the earliest model for me of someone able to juggle the demands of her profession and family, raising 5 kids, and still finding the time to pursue higher education. She is also by heart a mentor. We always had a cousin, or a distant relative that she would adopt, send to school and truly treated as part of our family. Most of them, through her guidance, got a degree and go on to become professionals themselves. Nurses, bankers, teachers, soldiers, etc. To her, there are no limits to your dreams but you must be willing to put the hard work and have the motivation to learn both at home (she had assigned chores for everyone) and at school. We had our collection of Encyclopedia Britannica – the printed version of what Google is today. We didn’t have to go to a library to search for information. It was in our home.
On top of her teaching profession, she also found time to pursue other interests. She learned how to sew and used me as her model. She would repurpose my older sister’s clothes into mine using the techniques she learned or the patterns she just discovered. I dressed smartly but my classmates and friends didn’t realize that my dresses were redesigned hand-me downs. She also learned how to knit and boy, don’t we have some knitted table covers, curtains, runners, even the dreaded sweaters!
My mom also had a green thumb. She had ornamental plants and orchids and also some herbs in her garden. One of my fondest memories is sitting in our balcony surrounded by greenery. My schoolmates loved to hang out in our home because it was cooler and peaceful and my mom always had some treats after we do our homework.
This CoVid19 and the shelter-in-place and/or lockdowns around the world got me thinking how my childhood memories of us being together as a family, dining together for every meal, doing things together, is pretty similar to what most families are now experiencing. The one major difference though is that during my childhood, most families can afford to live with modest incomes and the economic disparity is not as wide as we see in most societies today.
Sadly, due to CoVid19, the mothers of today are under a great amount of pressure especially the moms who have school-aged kids who are suddenly faced with not only educating them but also baby-sitting them 24/7. How does one manage the household, the work deadlines and the spousal demands within the confines of four walls without the spatial breaks? Sure we can argue about modernization and the emancipation of women. Truth be told, not much has changed in the way families view the role of moms in the household. I can bet that if we do a survey today, majority of women will say they feel burdened by the role of keeping the family together during this pandemic. Who loses the most sleep at night trying to think about keeping the family safe, sheltered, fed, educated, entertained, financially-afloat, happy, etc? Mom.
After all is said and done when this pandemic is over, my hope is that finally the world will realize that without moms, it’s game over!
Happy Mother’s Day!
