Wishing my mum and my grandma a fantastic day.
My parents don't believe in Mother's Day or Father's day - they believe that we should be good to our parents everyday and not just a single day in a year. They think it is a very"Western" celebration... BUT I think it is nice to have an occasion to tell them that they are loved - and I like buying pressies!
I was thinking about this a few days ago... When my mum was my age, she had THREE kids, and was getting ready to leave India and start a brand new life in Fiji. I can't imagine having three kids at this age, or blindly following my husband halfway across the globe to a country that no one knew anything about! I can't get over how much more mature my mum was then, than I am now! Can't beleive how different our lives are!
My mum was talking to this family friend of ours today and they were talking about buying houses. About 8 years ago, we demolished our house and rebuilt our current home. When we were in our old house, we used to ALWAYS have visitors. We had on average, about 10 people staying in the one house! It was a three bedroom house and not particualrly big, but it was always full. One of the main reasons we had to demolish and rebuild was because our house was just too small.
My mum was saying how ironic it was that now that we have a bigger house, everyone is too busy to stay at home. We have all grown up and are rarely at home. With my dad in India, we don't have as many visitors either.
I think the thing that I admire about my mum more than anything else, is her stability. In the last 10 or 15 years, we have all changed so much. My brothers and I have grown-up, we have our own wants and needs. Even my dad has changed. Yet, somehow, my mum has always maintained her role. She is still Jayanthi... the SAME Jayanthi!
To this day, my mum walks around in a saree (often her blouse doesn't match), eats her rice, bargains whenever and wherever she can, talks non-stop, insists on watching her Tamil movies, and is always honest - to almost an awkward degree! I often yell at her for those very things.
"Nalladha oru podavai-ya katindaa thaan enna??" (Why can't you put on a better saree?)
"Shoe-a konja seriyaa thaan podaen!" (Wear your shoes properly!)
"Oru naalaikku, saadam saaptaama thaan iraen!" (Why can't you go without rice for a single day??)
"Aiyooo! Manniiii!! Yen nee ellathukkum bargain pannara??" (MANNII!! Why do you have to bargain for EVERYTHING??)
Yet, I know that it is these very qualities that make my mum, MY MUM!
Just writing this to let my mum know, that I love her just the way she is! She is the one person in my life who I know will never change. Even when everything else around me turns upside-down, I just have to look at her to see something the right way up!
Love my Manni and Amma VERY much! Missing my Grandma heaps!
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