The purple banana's Mother's Day Special!

It’s Mother’s Day this Sunday, and unlike Family Day, Secretaries Day, and the Annual Gift-giving-exchanging Day (formerly known as Christmas) this is one made up holiday that actually means something to me.

I love my mother, in my own way, and every year when my Outlook calendar reminds me that it’s mom’s special day I become very excited because that’s the day when we see all of her sarcastic, cynical, tired expressions come out at once. Although growing up my brothers, sister and I had this idea of my mom being a robot, I am proud to say that I no longer think of her that way. My mom is a tough cookie to crack but we still like her.  

I’ll tell you a little bit about my mother. She’s a sweet ol’ lass who hails from the emerald hills of Bangladesh by way of Calcutta. She married very young and had her first kid when she was a teenager. Whoa! a teenager you say? Yup, in an age before reality TV took over the pregnant teen market, my mom had her first kid without any cameras following her around – she’s old school.

Having never finished the 8^th grade my mother was adamant, after moving to Canada, that all her children go to university and become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer – the only three options afforded to South Asian kids. So you can just imagine her joy when one of her children, moi, graduated with a liberal arts degree (none of her children became a doctor, lawyer, or engineer by the way). I remember the day when I told my mom I was switching my major. She just stared at me with her trademark look that reads something like “I don’t understand why you want to throw your life away, I am disappointed with your choices, wipe your feet on the mat before you step inside the house.” It was magnificent by any “mom look” standards. To this day I have never seen anyone recreate the depth and complexity of that expression. Would even give Meryl Streep a run for her money.

Every year my siblings and I will try to arrange something grand and special for Mother’s Day, like a spa session, pedicure/manicure, facial or a message, you know something which will make my mom sit and relax. And every year she scolds us for wasting our money on something that will last only one day. This is how this woman thinks! But I know that she’s secretly smiling inside when we give her flowers, hug and kiss her, and rub her feet (we don’t actually do that).

My mom didn’t go out of her way to shower us with affection till we came out overly confident college drop outs. But she did make sure that we learned the tough lessons in life and for that I have to give the woman credit for raising me into the successful bitter pill junkie that I am today. So this Mother’s Day don’t just rub your mom’s feet and tell her how special she is. Look her straight in the eyes and say “You are a hard-hearted old thing but I love you just the same, and now let’s eat cake.”

 
 

copy right of the purple banana, thaz moi!