May 11, 2020

Mother's Day

First of all, I would love to greet all of my blogging friends a Happy Mother's Day! To those who are mothers and grandmothers, to those who are not, let me extend my greetings to your mothers and wives. I on the other hand, will greet my mother all the way to heaven. Never was a day that I missed her and even if I am already 30 years old, the last 10 years of my adult life has been quite difficult without a mother to guide me. Although I do know that she lives in my heart and that she did quite a good job in making me ready for the world that she will not be part of anymore.

My mother carrying me when I was three (1993)

Me and my mom don;t have the perfect relationship. Unlike other families where the youngest is always the spoiled one, it's the other way around on my case. We always fight and clash, especially when I was growing up, we always had our differences in ways and ideas and in a lot of other things. But I do know that she loved me so much. 

When she was still alive, I thought she was playing favorites, but when she passed away, I thought, maybe not. Maybe she was the kind of mom that is different from us three brothers. She has to be the mom that matches our different personalities. And I think she knows I have a strong personality and at the same time caring, so she had to be the mother that would match those traits.

Through her, I have learned to be strong, independent, and most of all, to be able to carry yourself in a way that would respect others despite the differences. To extend that same respect to every single person I will be crossing paths with and love everybody for who they are.

Question: What is the best lesson you learned from your mother?

Since I cannot greet or embrace my mother anymore, I thought of recording a video as if she can watch and hear it. I know she does. I would love to share that with you. I know most of the speaking parts are in Tagalog, but I sang a beautiful song for her and all of you my dear friends and your mothers. It's a song by Il Divo called "Mama". If you wish to skip my emotional messages, you can go directly to the song at 2:26 mark.

37 comments:

  1. Your photo of you with your mother is very touching to see. Beautiful post.

    be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you very much Mae! Happy mother's Day to all the mothers in your side of the world.

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  2. ...somehow we grow up thinking that our families and life should prefect, what a nice thought. But life has never been perfect, we need to treasure all of the special moments and keep them in our hearts.

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    1. True that Tom! Never it was perfect but it is matched exactly for each of us. Thank you so much my friend Tom!

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  3. Dearest Steven,
    My Mom is also in Heaven and for that, they are a lot closer to us and probably can do a lot more for us from where they are!
    You lost your Mom at a very young age though; never easy to do without her guidance.
    My Mom always has put her Family First. She worked so hard for creating the meals for all nine of us and did so day after day. She worked hard in the greenhouses and on the fields, beside her large household. She taught us early on to help out and to work hard too. That has proven to be the best thing she's passed on to us, except to my younger sister, who got spoiled and never had to rise early... She is the one that lost out though!
    Teaching a strong faith and endurance is a very good thing!
    Wishing you a happy memory of her and knowing that she's with you till you meet again.
    Cute photo of her, holding her youngest...
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    PS we have an adopted daughter in Rotterdam and a foster-daughter who lives in Indonesia: http://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2010/05/anita-anggraeni-our-foster-daughter.html

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    1. Dear Mariette, thank you so much for that beautiful comment and for sharing your memories with your mother! I very much admire your mother for doing a great job raising 9 children! It is never easy to raise one or two but 9!!! I agree that we need to teach our children discipline and responsibility because in the long run, those who get to be spoiled are the ones that suffer in time and its very sad. I really loved the story you shared about Anita, thank you so much for being an inspiration!

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    2. No Steven, a family of nine = 2 Parents + 7 children... That was large enough though and never easy to manage.😉

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    3. Oh! It's the same as my Father's family :) They were seven siblings too, 4 boys and 3 girls :)

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  4. Good memories of your precious mother and thank you for the good wishes! I was actually unsure about whether Mothers Day is celebrated world wide or not. I believe it is on a different date in England. It is interesting to learn it is the same for you as fir us.

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    1. You are right Sallie :) Prior to this year, I never really thought that certain countries have their own Mother's Days :) Happy Mother's Day dear Sallie and Stay Safe!

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  5. Such a beautiful tribute to your mom!

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    1. Thank you so much Rose! Happy you like it :)

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  6. Even though our mothers are not physically with us anymore, I believe they remain with us spiritually. I'm sure your mama would have loved the song you sang, Mxx

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    1. Margaret you made me so happy with that, thank you very much! I really hope so because she also loves to sing! I got it from her :)

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  7. That is a very sweet picture of you two, Stevenson.
    Well, my "little" Brother sure was the Prince - to our Dad, Mum made no difference, cry over nothing you got a reason to cry!
    Not funny back then but I love she made no difference, also my Brother got his reasons to cry.

    And yes. I do think they made us strong in a way.

    The best lesson..

    I´d broken my right arm, it was badly infected as the hospital had a virus and no one believed me for a long time my pain was real.
    Mum brought me to another hospital, finally, an hour later - I was taken in for studying already, my future right there, but only with thgat hand - I had to verify I may loose the function of my hand.
    Ran downstrairs, called Mum, crying.

    "Think positive or you will INDEED loose that hand!"

    Next morning when I woke up she was there and asked me to move my fingers. All good!!!
    I do believe that this was the best advice, as unfriendly as it came over the phone, that she gave me.

    "Think positive!"

    And in the aftermath I think she felt pain, too, for not listening to me the months before...

    A beautiful video you did for her. Did you compose that song?
    I bet she smiled very big to this, dear friend!
    She must be very proud.
    I just look at mine now....

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    1. Oh my Iris! It's crazy that we lived at different time sand different cultures but we had same experiences. My Mom also doesn't believe me whenever I feel bad! She would always insist that it is just on my mind all the time, but there was once a Time that I went home from my University because I am feeling very bad and different. When I went home she was mad and thought I was just over acting. Until I inisited that I am really not feeling well so just to shut me up, we went to the Hospital and got my blood taken and revealed that I do have Dengue fever which was fatal if not responded too fast. But just like your Mom, my mom still was looking firm and all but I know she also was worried and a but feeling bad because she did not believe me right away.

      Thank you so much for sharing your story to me Iris, I feel so happy that my friend also had the same experience haha. Oh that song is a song by the band Il Divo :) The lyrics is so beautiful and really for a mother who passed away.

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    2. Oh, crazy! Well, I have no children, but with my Nieces I´m always over-reacting. Better get to the hospital for nothing once as being too late another time!

      At least our Mums always made sure we are OK after all and showed us their love xx

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    3. We have the same motto Iris! It's okay to find nothing than be late when there has been something bad! That is very true, they just have different ways of showing their love.

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  8. your mother look so pretty.....yes, she is happy in the heaven now.

    thank you for sharing nice song from video.

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    1. Thank you so much Tanza, that is very nice of you to say! I am glad you liked my singing :)

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  9. Your mom is smiling down from heaven, Stevenson, that was so heartfelt you made me cry. Thank you for being such a good blogger bud, you are beautiful inside and out.

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    1. Now you are making me cry too Jeanna, thank you very much my dear friend and I am glad that you felt the same feelings I had while recording that video for my Mom and for all mothers. And thank YOU for being such a good friend that I knew through blogging, you are very kind and thoughtful!

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  10. The song is beautiful. You mom is always with you :) on Poland we have mothers day 26may

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    1. That is very sweet of you Agata, Thank you very much for your kind words! Oh you have a different day of celebration, for now, let me greet your mother an advanced Happy mother's Day :)

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  11. Wow, you can sing. I love it.

    I got teary eyes with your message. I'm sure your Mom is proud of you and all your siblings. Just like I said before, people we love, even if they pass away, are always with us.

    I call my mom almost every day. She's now in her 70s, and I hope she'll live into her 90s. Life is really too short.

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    1. Oh thank you so much dear Kayni! I am happy you like the song :) So nice of you to say that for me and my brothers, and I very much agree, they will always be with us!

      That is so precious Kayni! Thank you for calling her almost everyday. Is she in the US or in the Philippines? Oh you are with me in prayers, she will live up to her 90's and even beyond with healthy body and mind.

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  12. Beautiful song, I was touched ... You have a very nice voice. Your mother is definitely proud of you :)

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    1. Rodzina that is very nice of you to say, I am very glad. Thank you so much!

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  13. That is such a beautiful, precious and touching post! I am a mother and my son is 1 year abd 6 months old , so thank you fir the wishes! Mother's Day is actually on 26 of May in my country, so I will have to wait a bit for my celebration☺I will definitely watch yoyr video from my account☺

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    1. Natalia! Advanced Happy Mother's Day! I am so happy to hear about your son! I'm sure he is super cute ad I wish that he will grow strong, happy, and with a loving heart. I'm sure he will because you are his mom :) Yey! I hope you will like my song when you listen to it on the 26th :)

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  14. What a lovely and honest post. I think when we are kids, we see things one way because we haven't been in the world long enough to understand how things work. I love how your feelings have evolved over time. And that photo is precious. I'm glad you shared your lovely song, too. I'd like to think she can hear it.

    The best thing I learned... that's hard because I got a lot of my mom. But when she was ill, she was still always upbeat. Always had a smile, always asked about others, rarely complained. I know she had pain and sometimes you could tell, but she tried hard not to bring people down and because of that, during her hardest times she was surrounded by friends who WANTED to be there, not just thought they SHOULD be there. I try to maintain that attitude even when things are tough. I'd say that was the best thing I ever learned because I've been blessed.

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    1. Jeanie I'm teary eyed by your comment about you Mom. She reminds me so much of my Mom and very much of my Grandma because I was with my Grandma everyday for three months when she was hospitalized. She fought so hard from the pain but she always keeps herself happy and smiling.

      I feel so happy about your mother's true friends. I think it is a very big blessing to have friends who really enjoy your company even if you are only being yourself. Thank you very much for sharing these lessons Jeanie. I've learned a lot from you and your Mom.

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  15. Your mom still looks very young, carrying you as a 3-year old! My brother in Holland has all the childhood pics, so I don't have those available. So sorry, Steve - I should have added your meme to my usual stack of memes, and I didn't That's why I forgot, until I looked at the email again this afternoon (Friday) you sent me about the comment section (by the way, many thanks and very much appreciated, even though I haven't been able to find a way to copy and paste the code)!). Hope you're doing well.

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    1. hello dear Jesh! Oh, I should be the one thanking you for joining Timeless Thursdays! I love your entry and kind of reminded me of a place in Amsterdam that I was able to see accidentally :)

      Hope you are doing well also and wishing you a happy weekend dear friend Jesh!

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