“When Jack Burns needed to hold his mother’s hand, his fingers could see in the dark.” -John Irving, Until I Found You
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I live in a battlefield. We all do. Brains shoot missiles, and words sting. Newspapers reek of destruction, but this isn’t about that. This story isn’t about the war zone called ‘the 21st century’. It’s about the warrior who keeps the fights outside the window. Dare any bomb cross the threshold of my home, she’d send it flying back at Godspeed.
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Mothers are a gift. The world would literally fall apart without them. Before I begin, it’s important to understand that ‘mother’, to me, has never been a biological term. It indicates anybody who raised you. A foster parent? A house help? Your grandparent? Father? They’re precious irrespective of how you’re related to them, and we need to thank them for being in our lives.
Here are 30 things we forget to say “thank you mom” for:
1. Thank you mom for creating me
Irrespective of your constant denial, the truth is: You have the best child ever. Thank you, mom, for putting together the “sugar, spice, and everything nice” to create a Powerpuff Me.
2. For not disowning me (yet)
It hasn’t been easy, has it? Raising a kid with a quicksand-heart and a head that never touches the ground? From bruising knees to bruising hearts, I admit, it’s been difficult. Thank you, mom, for choosing to bear with me. God knows I couldn’t have done it without you.
3. For letting me be weird
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You have helped me be comfortable in my own skin. Dangling half my body off the bed, while studying, helps me obtain maximum concentration. You’ve walked in on me doing that, looking like a mental asylum escapee, and yet chosen to call me your daughter. Thank you, mom, for not letting the zoo authorities take me away.
4. For dealing with everything I managed to get on my shirt
From ice cream, to every imaginable form of dirt, I managed to get a variety of things stuck to my school uniform. I remember kids who drew smiley faces on my shirt, and you never threw me out for it. From hopping into puddles to cleaning the desk with my handkerchief, you’ve tolerated everything. Thank you.
5. For letting me find my way
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You let me be. Sometimes that meant stumbling, and tripping over. But it also meant that I learnt to pick myself up. You let me make mistakes so my knowledge isn’t second-hand. In a world of people who are “someone’s daughter” or “somebody’s wife”, you taught me how to be my own person. Thank you, mom.
6. For teaching me that all lives matter
We live in a century torn apart by inhuman discrimination. You never let that get to me. Ever since I was a child, I’ve seen the house help being treated as a part of the family. Frankly, it wasn’t until I grew up that I realized the world felt differently. Thank you, for making a human being out of me. The world needs more of you.
7. For valuing my efforts more than results
“Give it your 100%. That is all anybody can ever ask of you, and it will always be enough.” You’ve always asked me to put in honest effort into every sphere of my life. “The universe will handle the rest.” Thank you, for teaching me that my struggles count.
8. For letting me dream big
“Aim for the sky, and you’ll reach it.” Regardless of how seemingly impossible my dreams have been, you’ve always believed that I’d get there. From scolding me when I doubt myself, to pushing me when I get lazy, you’ve never let my dreams die. Thank you.
9. For a wonderful childhood
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I got everything I wanted, without having to ask for them. As an adult now, I understand how difficult it must have been. Working three jobs, and still remembering to pick up toys from here and there. I cannot love myself half as much as you’ve loved me. Thank you, mom.
10. For making me your no. 1 priority
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In life, it all comes down to the choices you make. I know that because you chose me. A slight temperature on me, meant a ‘sick day’ at work for you. You worked a 9-9 job and still mustered the strength to practice dance steps with me, after returning home. You took 48 hours out of a 24-hour day, and gave most of it to me. Thank you.
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11. For telling me a different version of fairy tales
“It’s a wild world.” I was never allowed to believe in fairy tales. You turned a spine of powder into a spine of steel, and I cannot thank you enough. 20 years into this amusement park of a life, your reality checks have helped me grow stronger. Thank you, for shielding my jellybean-heart.
12. For always taking my side
Don’t get me wrong. My mother and I argue a lot. From missing sandals, to rigid ideologies, there are very few things we haven’t fought over. But should I be caught in war, I know I’ll have her by my side. She reprimands me when I’m wrong, but always understands my side of the story. Thank you, mom.
13. For keeping all my secrets
I can barely ever keep anything from you. It makes me sick. From random fights in school, to my perpetual tumults in love, you’ve listened to everything. Thank you, for protecting all the skeletons in my cupboard. Should anybody ever find out even 1% of it, I will be doomed.
14. For never misjudging me
I see judgement wherever I look. They’re so quick that even Fast Track courts develop an inferiority complex. From the way we hold a pen, to the way we live OUR life, nothing escapes them. Thank you, for never looking down on my choices. I admit, I’ve made a few horrible ones, but you’ve never judged me for them.
15. For cooking me the best food
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I swear it’s magic. You’ve invited so much trouble on yourself, though. Most things I eat are a dialled down version of food I get at home. So, you’ll have to keep cooking for your ever-hungry daughter. Thank you, for coming up with weird food items to ensure I never get bored. You’re the best, Ma.
16. For remembering my life-details better than I can
Oh, dear, where do I start. From project deadlines to medicine timings, you’re a Human Journal. You remember the birthday of a friend I haven’t spoken to in 6 years. Thank you, mom, for the projects you helped me subject, the appointments you made me keep, and the friends you prevented me from losing.
17. For growing up with me
I still see a child in you (which is an accurate representation of my mental age, really). When I was tiny, you’d play Kitchen with me. Slightly less tiny now, you go to extremes, trying to make me laugh. Your ways have changed along with me, but your motive remains the same: To see me happy. Thank you, ma’am.
18. For pushing me to achieve
Studies are only necessary because society looks down upon the homeless. You’ve ensured that I don’t fall behind. It’s a rat race out there, and I am my best rat-self because of you. Sometimes, I admit, it gets too much, but I know I’d be lost without you. Thank you.
19. For being a champion alarm clock
Only God knows when you wake up or go to sleep. Do you even sleep? Technology might fail, an apocalypse may eat half the Earth away, but if I ask you to wake me up at 4pm, you always will. (Why does anybody need to be woken up at 4pm, you ask? Like I said, I’ve made some pretty strange life choices.) Sometimes, you even feel bad and let me sleep a TAD bit past my own deadlines. Thank you, Maa.
20. For being the mother my friends love
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This has been a problem, honestly. My best friend uses you as a weapon to make me do things. You both get along so well, your internal spy mechanism doesn’t let me rest in peace. All my friends love you, and they should. You’re wonderful. I just wish they loved you less than me.
21. For never putting restrictions on me
A lot of people criticized your way of bringing me up. I never had a cage around me, and so I never had the maddening urge to break out of it. In trying to rebel, many kids lose their way. You let me do everything I wanted to, and without shame. It took a lot of courage on your part and I will be forever grateful. Thank you, mom, for letting me fly.
22. For justifying everything
Most parents don’t explain their actions. They leave the kids with an ambiguous “Because I told you so”. You’ve always reasoned out with me. Told me ‘why’ I couldn’t have that ice cream, or ‘why’ I couldn’t poke my eyes out. Thank you, for helping me understand life a little better.
23. For taking care of me
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Where do I even begin? You take better care of me, than even I can. Every time I’m sick I feel like I’ve been cushioned by 4 Alpacas and am being turned into the human version of a marshmallow. You’d probably even school the Grim Reaper if he came to get me. NOBODY GETS PAST MY MOTHER. Not even germs. Thank you, Maa.
24. For telling me that charity is important
For my twelfth birthday, I was taken to Mother Teresa’s Orphanage in the city. I spent my day with children from differing statuses of health. Eight years later, I still remember their smiling faces singing ‘Happy Birthday’. That day, something inside me changed. From forcing me to part with old clothes, to keeping your acts of charity hush-hush, you’re one of the kindest people the world has. Thank you, Maa.
25. For teaching me the importance of gratitude
The immense power of a simple ‘thank you’. From roadside vendors to uncles who brought me presents, you ensured I thanked everybody. I learnt very early that the smallest of things matter too. Being grateful for the anything anybody does for me, has made me be a happier person. Thank you, Maa, for teaching me how to appreciate life.
26. For promising me that the world deserves kindness
Choosing to rough somebody up, is easy. It’s also a lot of fun. I know because I’ve been on both sides. Choosing to be kind is much more difficult, but a 100 times more fulfilling. People today are tearing each other apart, and your kindness could really make somebody’s day. Be nice. It’s worth it. Thank you, mom, for never letting me be anything but.
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27. For being a warrior woman
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My mother is an inspiration. Yes, I’m showing off. (Everybody should.) My mother is a Spartan who skipped a couple of years. I’ve seen her school the worst of humans with just one look. From juggling a million tasks, to battling society’s BS, my mother is the personification of strength. Thank you, Maa, for never letting me feel inadequate.
28. For being right, always
I used to hate admitting this. Be it my choice in friendship, to my choice of food, your opinion has always stuck. Your seal of approval matters less because you’re my mother, and more because that means I am not doomed to failure. Thank you, mom, for being my very own Raven.
29. For being my best friend
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You’ve been more of a confidante and annoying older sister, than my mother. I’ve told you things people get kicked out of their house for, and you’ve only laughed. My life could be on the highway to hell, and you’d still be on the passenger seat. From helping me decide clothes, to sorting friendship and work issues (for HOURS), you’ve done it all. Thank you, mom, for being amazing.
30. Above all, thank you mom for being MY Mother and My Hero
As a kid, I would get a little jealous when you’d hug my cousins. As if “daughter” was a transferable term. I’m grateful to every power in the universe for choosing to make you my mother. We’re the perfect combination. Thank you, mom, for doing all that you do for me. You’re my hero. You have always been.
I agree with half the internet when they say, “We don’t need a single day to be grateful for our mothers.” It’s true. I am grateful for my mother every moment of each day. I constantly worry about her, and sometimes when I haven’t received 20 calls in 30 minutes, I start missing her too. But I never sit her down and tell her all the things I am saying here, today. Mostly because she’s a busy woman and would ask me to restrict my love to less than four sentences. This day is important, and I hope you use it right.
Happy Mothers’ Day, to every mother there is. You make the world an amazing place to be in. Thank you for all that you do for us. We love you.
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“Not all heroes wear capes.”
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