Mother's Day

I awoke this morning without thinking about any particular day but the thought of my mother came. I remembered one of the few last visits to Hong Kong when she was still living in the old homestead, before she moved into the Buddhist Home. I asked her about “Ah Dye” my father’s other wife, they were sharing the house together. she said that Ah Dye had been living in a care home because she had lung cancer and I said I should visit her. Of course my mother was glad I did. Ah Dye was so thrilled that I made the trip to see her, I could see tears in her eyes. The visit was short but before I left, my mother reminded me to give Ah Dye some money, as “spending money” which is a custom. Even though I would have already done so because I always remember so many times Ah Dye took care of me many times when I was a child as a mother would (she had two daughters of her own), I was still overwhelmed with my mother’s generosity and kindness. My mother has always been the one to give her shirt off her back. I think I learned many gratitude and generosity lessons from these two ordinary women who were actually great teachers in my young years.