Motherhood... what a glorious career!

"For mothers, out of their wisdom and love, really do know what's the best for their children"

We should pay tribute to our mothers. Why? Because from the time a child is conceived, it is she who provides sustenance until the child is fully grown. A mother will beg, borrow, or steal just to be able to satisfy the needs of her offspring, out of a pure and unselfish love. And who can fault her for doing so? But what really makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt-all at the same time? Or is it heart?

Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m., to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

Is it the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a street shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

One of the very first words a child learns to utter is "mama". It is rarely ever "papa". Perhaps, this is instinctive, considering the fact that the mother carries her child in her womb for nine months-a unique form of bonding that no two other people can never experience.

My mother was only 28 years of age when she married my father. She learned how to cope up with her in-laws, learning all there was to being a wife and mother. Perhaps I was the only girl in the family, mom was even more attentive to me. I recall how, when she dip a piece of face towel in a hot water and place this over my forehead to give me relief from my high fever. She hardly ever slept a wink whenever I was bedridden. At the mere sight of the injection, she comforted me, reassuring me that the prick would last only a few seconds and that it would be over just as quickly. She was always there to accompany not only me, but even my two older brothers and my youngest brother when we needed to undergo tooth extraction. Such loving care mother extended to all of us, her children-young or old. Mama also helped me in my home works.

I truly feel grateful now when I look back. I feel lucky to have a mother who instilled such positive values early in my childhood in order to prepare me for the daily battles I was to face while growing up.

After all, my mother was just not a parent. She was also my best friend and confidante.

I love my mother and I am proud of her