From The Straits Times    |

My mother and I had such a tumultuous relationship when I was growing up,  but today, we’re the best of friends.

And a good woman – and mother – she is, as I’ve come to appreciate her even more over time (Check out Jade’s Mother’s Day message to her mum here).

She was, in some ways, strict like a Tiger Mum when it came to discipline. But I was never pressured about my school grades, and she would just tell me, “Do your best and make it to the next level”. I actually did really well – and I knew she was proud of me, but it just never really impressed her as much, as grades were never a focus nor a priority in my family.

I was that annoying kid who wanted ballet, piano, art, violin and swimming classes, and she would try to give me as much as she could afford. Yet she has never once pushed me or my two brothers to do anything we didn’t want to do.

Although we’ve had massive rows in my teenage years, where she was constantly worried about the safety of her very rebellious, very impressionable only daughter, my mum never tries to control me (till this day), whereas some of my friends are still under their mother’s watchful eyes. 

Always thoughtful and sensitive to my feelings, she’s careful with her choice of words. She’ll ask me, “How are you?” instead of saying, “Where have you been” or “Have you forgotten about me?” when I saw her less during busy periods. 

She supports what I want to do, even though she may not understand it, including my love for sports (she nags about the sun exposure), joining a beauty pageant (she didn’t like the bikini segment), and leaving my first job to join a local TV station. 

Yet she braved the sun to cheer me on at wakeboarding competitions and netball matches, stood in the crowd to give me moral support as I hosted my first events, and even took to the stage for a mother-daughter walk during the pageant though she was camera-shy.

Sure, she sometimes drives me nuts with her over-thinking, over-worrying, and over-caring ways, but she’s truly the kindest human being I know. 

Her wish for her children is to be kind and good people. I’m still a work-in-progress, and having her as my source of inspiration helps.

In my eyes, she’s the best mum in the world. Happy Mothers’ Day to my dearest and (only) mummy. 

PS. Remember to celebrate your mummy this month, every month, and every day.

This story was first published on Her World’s May 2020 issue.