tl;dr My mother is amazing and I appreciate her leading by example throughout my life. This is a story about her humility and hardworking skills that I admire.
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Many years ago, while I was in elementary school, my brother attended Boy Scout camp with boys and their families from the rest of the council. Being the supportive mother that my mom is, she stayed during the entirety of the camp as a chaperone. The three of us, Mom, Kevin and I, stuck together a lot growing up because Dad was always working. Since no one would be able to watch me for the weekend, I tagged along. I remember sitting alongside 50 boys during a session and being the only girl there to practice wood whittling. Throughout the weekend, I would often be the only female of my age shooting bb guns, practicing archery, going hiking, building crafts and playing sports. I was a Tom boy and my last name was Tom. Ha. Ha. Ha. I once told someone that I was a Tom girl in response to them teasing me. Given that this was Boy Scout camp, it made sense why I was the only girl there.
(It’s probably the earliest event that I can remember where I was singled out due to one of my identities. I’ve also been the only Chinese/Filipino person in a group of 50 Koreans. And I’ve felt somewhat excluded from my Chinese group for being Filipino and vice versa. But those are stories for another time.) This story is about my mother.
During the camp, after some (crafting? whittling? eating?) activity with the ~100 boys, they all went off to play. I remember walking by the tables and seeing mom quietly cleaning up all by herself. A few hours later, the whole camp gathered together in a circle to make announcements before lining up to eat. The director stated “There was a woman, cleaning up by herself. I really want to say thank you for doing so, while all the other adults and boys were hanging out. Would she please step forward, so she and her troop can eat first.”
I knew who he was describing. That was my mom. Obviously. I looked at her, and she smiled and shook her head. She wasn’t going to step forward. Typical of her because she doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. The guy paused, waiting for someone. I kept nudging her to move forward and some of the parents in our troop noticed. “Was it you, Theresa?” I knew she would’t step forward, so I pushed her and broke the circle. The director brought her to the middle and we gave her a round of applause. She hung her head with a bit of embarassment and smiled.
My mom tends to smile a lot, especially when she doesn’t know what to say. She has a warm smile, a kind one. One in which after you look at her, she’s so adorable that you have to smile too.
In general, no matter what event is going on, mom would always be there setting up early or staying late to clean up. I would complain because no one else would clean and while other families would go home, Mom would be the one to stay late to finish what needed to be done.
I will forever remember that moment, when she was recognized for the work she does behind the scenes and I strive to be like that whenever possible. I will also remember that feeling of pushing her forward, empowering her to receive that recognition.
It’s not mother’s day, but thank you mom for all that you’ve done. Mahal na mahal kita mama.
Ocean of Clouds 