I AM WOMAN

painted by 9th Grader Ajunath Sindhu Vinayala of Thrissur, Kerala, India. 

"She is just a housewife, she doesn't work."

 A common statement, yet so UNDERSTATED!! Housewives and Mothers are undervalued and underappreciated commodities. 

Ahh, that is until our children have children. Then, MOTHERS become PRICELESS as they realise the sacrifices made. I cannot speak for the Western culture, but in Malaysia the phrase "kurang ajar" (not taught properly especially applying to mothers) will elicit violent confrontations. In fact, in all our Chinese, Indian and Malay movies, a hooligan/thug/gangster will withstand any form of insult or torture, but a mere slur about his mother will ...opps.. the speaker is dead meat.  

Here are Women who have walked with me. We, who have laughed and angst over our  "darlings." So on International Women's Day, we celebrate women in their roles as Grandmothers and Mothers.  

Chin Ah Tai, my grandmother to 21 grandkids, 1962. She never had the opportunity to go to school and instead tapped rubber and farmed. But she made sure all her five children received an education. 

Grandma Naranjan with Sherin. She would not allow her daughters-in-law to scold her grandkids, but she could give her sons a good "shelling" even at 98 years-old.

This tough cookie Grandma Rose with Sonia bakes a mean batch of custard biscuits. Just the right crisp on the outside, but melts in your mouth. She will be 90 this July with seven children, eight grandkids and seven great-grandkids. The numbers ain't staying fixed, possibility of more to come! Trophy 🏆 here.  

Irene Fraude with Callum, Sasha and Sarah. In case of emergency, don't dial 999, just call this grandma. She can fix anything.

Lee Swee Sim (my mother) with her children, 1963. This "dragon" who kept us moving as she breathed fire on our "you know where." My mother -  a firm believer of "spare the rod and spoil the child." So we had many a good whacks!

 Naranjan Kaur (my mother-in-law) with her daughters-in-law. She welcomed us four "outlaws" like her own daughters. Her wise words, "I love all of you equally, no favourites."

Elizabeth George (26 then) with Mohini during their first Christmas. This little girl is now 49 years-old and a lawyer. We always envisage their career paths but lo and behold, haven't we learnt that they have plans of their own. 

Diana Gan and Yvonne, mother and daughter sharing love, grace and respect. A "tiger-mum" who nurtured this "cutie" to a responsible woman with a successful career. Give a "Yes" for tiger-mums.

Lan Boey, another 🥇gold medal 🥉 recipient. Hot scrumptious lunches ready everyday when the boys got home from school. From the gate, they would shout, "What's for lunch mama?" Now, they are confident young men. Roles have changed and the voices shout, "How are you mama?"

Sassy JAM and Savvy K, 2000. A mum so riled up with her tactics, books were thrown out of the windows. But Savvy K can be so "sweet," even the giraffes wanted her.

KB Sia after her daughter's prize giving and Japanese dance performance, 1993. This mother is also an accomplished qigong "laoshi."  She has the patience of a Saint  when teaching qigong "gong fa." 

Many of us are not walking ahead of our brats now, we have stepped to walk BESIDE them. We are no more advising them on life choices, they are now advising us on how to manoeuvre smart phones and online apps. We have recovered from the shock of having them bring home boy friends with man buns, pompadour haircuts, tattoos, flesh tunnel ear rings, and embraced our sons and daughters-in-law with calm and HOPE. 

We walk with our children and grandchildren. We are proud to be

WOMEN:  

The hand that rocks the cradle

The hand that rules the world.

And the sweetest, kindest and gentlest of mummies is my niece Sonia with Sasha and Ivy, 2020.  This Millennium mum does not subscribe to "spare the rod and spoil the child."

She is an advocate of patiently explaining the rights and wrongs 🏆 .

 "I, Sonia, WILL ALWAYS BE HERE FOR YOU, Sasha and Ivy."