It’s confusing that Mother’s Day is celebrated on different days in different parts of the world. This year, the Malaysians celebrate it on 13 May, whereas it’s not even in the same month in France (it falls on the 7th of June). I have no idea why the different dates. So whenever I live in a different continent, I end up getting a surprised response when I phone my mom to give my warm wishes.
It’s not only getting a surprising “huh?!” from the end of the phone that really bothers me. We have missed celebration together as a family for many years. I haven’t lived with parents since 1995. I have not only been away from home but away from my country. If I don’t remember wrongly, there were one or two occasions where I went back to KL to visit my parents and which coincide with Mother’s Day. Since then, I could only wish her over the phone. Sometimes I don’t even realise that the celebration has already passed in Malaysia. I guess she understood now (that the dates are different in different countries) and not mistaken me as an ungrateful child when I don’t call her on that day.
Fortunately my mom has many loving friends who are with her in my absence. I know that her fellow “aunty” friends fancy going out together to celebrate festivals and special days. Well, actually, I suppose they like to celebrate just about anything ‘cos the idea is to enjoy good food with good friends! It’s really nice to have such a culture. My mom gets to enjoy the food nevertheless and also to hear from me.
I hope one day that we could do more celebrations in Malaysia, with my parents of course. That’s possible during my retirement. I have in mind spending 6 months in France and 6 months in Malaysia. Retirement is when we can really call it a day and leave us alone; we want to live wherever we want. Malaysia is an obvious choice. Friends and family would still be there. It would be affordable for us to live comfortably only with our pension funds. The spicy food, blazing sun, language (more and more people speak English) and culture are not new to my husband. This is going to be like our yearly trip back anyway. It’s just extended from 3 weeks to 6 months. Oh, it feels so good just by thinking about it. Having enough time to absorb the heat, to consume the most delicious asam laksa and durian, to feel the soft white sands on its beaches…..and lots more. Well, it’s not just about us really, the retirement and such. I would also like to spend the last years of the lives of my parents with them. Call it catching up missed opportunities or what, we know that we want to spend these times together after being physically distanced for a long time. And also, there is a Chinese saying; your children would do the same to you as you did to your own parents. Treat them dearly just as they have taken care of us.
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