Mama... how do you...?

At the moment: tired but won't sleep


Remember when we were kids, how we used to ask our mom for almost everything that needs to be done? We always knew our moms had an answer to everything. After all, wasn't she the one who patched your knee up when you fell on your bike? Wasn't she the one who invented the procedure of gulping a spoonful of sugar after your medicine? Wasn't she the one who magically makes your day brighter by serving just the right breakfast?

It was because of my mom that I took drawing seriously.

I was so frustrated of not being able to draw a decent caricature of a person that I ended up brawling and throwing tantrums one hot April day (yeah.. back in '93!) And as any kid my age at that time would have done, I seeked for my mom's help. She always had an answer to everything. She would surely know how to draw... right?

In truth, my mom (like almost every grown-up I know) completely suck at drawing. What she told me was, "You draw a letter U honey... and then you put hair and then eyes.. then the nose and the little mouth" At that time, it may have looked like a weird bean-like creature but to a 6-yr old me, it was the perfect picture of a real person. I never forgot that... "The Letter U" tactic. I'm still using it right now actually.. but in a more complex way of course. With my mom's instruction, I had a steady guideline and I took it from there. Now.. I draw fairly well. I'm no class A artist but I take pride in the fact that I can draw anime characters who look like anime characters and not incomprehensible blobs of what seem to be human limbs.

I remembered this because my youngest sister asked me to teach her how to draw just today. She was entering this slogan-making thing in school and she needed my help. I wanted to tell her "The Letter U" tactic but I figured it was useless since she'd be making a SLOGAN (yeah.. duh.)

It's weird isn't it? How we used to think our mothers have all the answers to everything. Now I rarely ask my mother for anything at all. Whatever I needed to know, I look for it in the internet, my friends, some more friends... anyone actually except my mother. There is one thing though that I've managed to ask her during her short one-month visit here in the Philippines (which was just last April):

Me: Mom... Is it really difficult giving birth?
Mom: Uhh... no. It's no big deal.. very easy actually.
Me: Was I a tough baby? I mean did I give you a hard time pushing me out?
Mom: (thinks for a moment) No... I remember the doctor giving me some kind of medicine and then I fell asleep. When I woke up, you were already in this world.

The first thought that came to my mind was "Holy shit, I'm adopted" I mean, how can she not know how her labor went? Did I just pop out of her when she was asleep?! Haha! But seriously, my mom made the whole pregnancy and labor thing sound soooo easy and sooo stress free that I honestly couldn't believe it. I have heard so many stories of agonizing labor and mothers screaming their lungs out in the delivery room, vowing never to have kids again. (and then come back a year later for another kid.. >.< Filipinos...) I've probably seen too many films. So on to the conversation.

Me: Mom.. I'm having really irregular periods... will it be difficult for me to have kids?
Mom: No.. your period will stabilize soon. You're still young.
Me: Mom.. I'm 19.
Mom: As I've said, still young. And besides, it's so easy to get pregnant.
Me: I don't like kids. I might not have one.
Mom: What are you talking about? I expect grandCHILDREN in 5 years!

Oh yeah.. give it up to my mom for being so blunt about it. She even told me stuff about how she got pregnant but I wouldn't disclose that here (do I hear sighs of relief? ^__^). I find her last line funny because she didn't say "I expect you to get married in 5 years" what she clearly specified were grandchildren. Haha! I love my mom for trusting me to have made the right decision with Julian.

When I was a kid, I asked her how to draw people. I asked her why the Earth wasn't the center of the universe. I asked her why the garbage collector stole my bike. I asked her why I couldn't play outside in the afternoon and instead force myself for siesta...

It makes me both scared and thrilled at the same time that I'm so close to asking her how to become a good mother.



FYI: I'm not pregnant. >.<



NOTE: THANKS to VINKS of http://utakgago.blogspot.com for featuring me in his blog. Please visit his blog too! Lots of interesting posts to tickle your mind. Thanks again vinkz!