[German]
Actually, my mom could be celebrated several times a year. We just do that with small and sometimes big gestures. Maybe it's not called a celebration every time. But a mom doesn't need that either. Now a mom myself for 4 years, I've learned that being a mom is often an unnoticed job. I don't say ungrateful, because gratitude often shows itself in different moments. When cuddling, when I recognize my child's own smell through every secondary smell, which can often be a mixture of sweat, chocolate and playground sand. I suck it in and squeeze the little body even tighter. My daughter thanks me by pushing me back and snuggling me even closer because she's enjoying this moment as much as I am.
Unnoticed are the moments of not being able to sleep, of cleaning these little bastards several times a day, of cleaning their and my surroundings, of preparing meals and feeding and protecting and educating and worrying.
For me, being a mom is a full-time job with overtime, but disguised as a part-time job. Why do I only really appreciate my mom since I've had this experience myself? Because as a young person in self-discovery I was primarily concerned with myself. Busy with my emotions, experiences, discoveries and expectations. I have to find myself before I know what kind of mom I want to be. And then you still have to find the partner!
A family does not have to be traditional
A family does not have to consist of the traditional main characters mum, dad and children. The constellations are numerous and colourful, beautiful and tough, traditional and unconventional. It is not necessary to name them all. This limits the possibilities of a family definition. It is much nicer to define a family essentially. This rough definition is often used: people who take responsibility for each other. I think that could be the gist. Everything else around this core is a product of our society, economy and politics.
In my case, I have a mom who went her way out of love. As soon as she had us children, her main motivation was her responsibility for us. I am forever grateful to her for that. She deserves at least two Mother's Days for that. International Mother's Day every May and Thai every August. She is still the glue that holds us siblings together.
We see the loving grandma through the eyes of our children
When we celebrate Mother's Day, families come together. We eat a lot and like to. We just enjoy being together. We sisters all understand motherhood very well now, because we all have children and are rediscovering our mother - seeing her through the eyes of mother herself and the loving grandmother through the eyes of our children.
She didn't have an easy time as a small child in the village, as a young woman in the urban jungle of Bangkok, as a mother and migrant in reunified Germany. Now that she is retired, she can finally rest. She still worries about us "children" and "grandchildren", but we didn't make it easy for her. She often felt that communicating with us children in German was a problem because she couldn't express herself the way she would have liked. We children had quickly overtaken her linguistically and she felt that we treated her intellectually less. We can no longer change the past. But all the more she deserves to be appreciated and loved. It's never too late for that.
Mom this is for you 💖
Subscribe to our newsletter and you will also receive our blog updates.
[German]
My mom could be celebrated several times a year indeed. We just do it in small and sometimes big scope. Maybe that's not always called celebrating. But a mom doesn't need that anyway. I have been a mom for 4 years now. I've learned that being a mom is often at an unnoticed job. I'm not saying ungrateful, because appreciation is often shown in different moments. While cuddling, when I recognize my child's own smell through all other smells, which can often be a mixture of sweat, chocolate and playground sand. I suck it in and squeeze the little body even tighter. My daughter appreciates me by hugging me back and cuddling me even tighter, because she is enjoying this moment just like me.
I'm talking about the moments of not being able to sleep, of cleaning these little pigs' dirty diapers several times a day, of cleaning their surroundings and mine, of preparing meals and feeding and protecting and educating and worrying. Those are the moments that are unnoticed.
For me, being a mom is a full-time job with overtime, but disguised as a part-time job. Why have I only really started to appreciate my mom since I started having these experiences myself? Because as a young person I was primarily concerned with myself and in self-discovery. Busy with my emotions, experiences, exploration and expectations. I have to find myself before I know what kind of mom I would like to be. And then there's still having to find a partner!
A family doesn't have to be traditional
A family does not have to consist of the traditional protagonists mom, dad and child/ren. The constellations are numerous and colourful, beautiful and tough, traditional and unconventional. It is not necessary to name all of them precisely. This limits the possibilities of defining a family. It is much nicer to essentially define a family. This rough definition is often used: People who take responsibility for one another. I think that could be the core. Everything else around this core is a product of our society, economy and politics.
In my case, I have a mom who chose her path out of love. Once she had us children, her main motivation was her responsibility for us. I am forever grateful to her for that. She deserves at least two Mother's Days for this. The International Mother's Day every May and the Thai one every August. She is the glue that holds us siblings together.
We see the loving grandmother through the eyes of our children
When we celebrate Mother's Day, our families come together. We eat a lot and we love to eat. Most of all we just enjoy being together. As we sisters all understand motherhood very well now, because all of us have children, we are rediscovering our mom - seeing her through the eyes as moms ourselves and the loving grandmother through the eyes of our children.
It wasn't easy for her as a small child in the village, as a young woman in the urban jungle of Bangkok, as a mother and migrant in reunited Germany. Now as a pensioner, you can finally relax. She still worries about us "children" and "grandchildren", but we are also not making it easy for her. She often felt that communicating with us children in German was a problem because she couldn't express herself the way she would have liked. In terms of language we children had quickly overtaken her and she felt that we undermined her intellectually. We can no longer change the past. But all the more she deserves to be valued and loved. It's never too late for that.
Mama this is for you 💖
Subscribe to our newsletter and you will also receive our blog updates.
Leave a comment