Daughter-mother

May 17, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I missed the point. I’m the daughter. My mum is the mum. That’s the relationship. Yes, I’m my mum’s carer now. The roles and responsibilities may have somewhat blurred. But the relationship is clear and irrevocable. Mother’s Day was on May 9. The week leading up to it was unusually difficult for me. My tinnitus […]

Haircut week

May 3, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

It was my first hair cutting job and my mum’s first in about seven decades. She hasn’t been to a hairdresser or barber since she was about 12. I cut my mum’s hair a few weeks ago. It was a daunting and challenging responsibility on many levels. Why? My mum prides herself in her twice […]

My younger mum

April 5, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

One morning, without any prompting, my mum recalled her wedding and her early married life in Kuala Ketil estate in Kedah. She, who is always late and on a catch up mode, despite being up between 5-5.30 am every morning, was rather relaxed and in a chatty mood. Information was spewing out of her. Naturally, […]

My mum’s schedule

March 1, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

As my mum’s carer, I spend a fair amount of time with her. I pop down to see her about four times a day as she lives on a lower floor in the same condominium as my husband and me. I know her schedule. She is up between 5-5.30am every morning. Yes, that’s correct. I’m […]

My mum’s sous chef

February 1, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I am now my mum’s personal sous chef. Who would have thought? Certainly, not my mum. Not me. Not my husband. He still laughs at my current thrust-upon role. He finds the circumstance-driven transformation rather ironic. I am not at all keen on cooking, especially the savoury stuff. I even have a plaque on my […]

My mum’s fun times

January 18, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I like to learn new things about my mum. I especially like it when I discover some interesting experiences that I can document. I already know the everyday stuff but very little, if any, of the fun and exciting things that she did and/or enjoyed in her younger days. To be honest, I cannot associate […]

Pongal rice, Karthigai and festivals

December 7, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

I helped my mum make ‘Sakkarai Pongal’ or Pongal rice last Sunday. Obviously not biased but she does make the tastiest Pongal rice I’ve ever had. This time around, she also got the thumbs-up from my husband, who doesn’t normally like the texture or taste of sweet rice. He likened it to a really delicious version […]

My mum’s recipe 6: Upma

October 5, 2020.Reading time 7 minutes.

I don’t like Upma. I don’t like its taste, texture or look. My mum likes it. So much that she’d probably have it every Friday, her second vegetarian day in the week, if she could. Monday is her first designated non-meat day. My mum’s vegetarian days go up each month correspondingly with the number of […]

Memory lane

September 21, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

I love my mum. Always have. She turns 87 next Sunday. With her birthday around the corner, I was thinking more about her. As she is now. An old girl. Hearing suspect. Memory failing. Sleepy dopey. Heart and head willing, but body lagging behind. With flashes of determination and stubbornness. And, as she was many […]

Mothagam

August 31, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

August 22 was Vinayagar Chathurti. My mum was fretting leading up to the big day for Lord Ganesha. She usually gets excited when there is a celebration on the horizon, particularly Deepavali. But this time she seemed concerned with her ‘To-do’ list. Shopping, cleaning the altar, sprucing up the condo and especially making ‘Mothagam’ or […]