Mother Courage

Ok ... this is for my Mum.

My mum lived through the 2nd world war in Japanese occupied Singapore.
She played with unexploded shrapnel, huddled in tears in the corner of the living room as japanese soldiers caroused drunkenly in the house next door, saw British soldiers tied to trees covered in jungle ants, and decapitated heads on spikes, and peaked out fearfully from curtains as Chinese men were rounded up in the street where she lived .... and for that I love her.

My mum played in the monsoon drains as a child and was for all reports a bit of a tomboy ... and for that I say Respect!

My mum ran a school for girls that had an unfortunate nautical pinafore peppered by green polka dots as a uniform. She battled pythons in the toilets and banished all form of sticker collecting books from the general student population ... she could stop an errant juvenile inbetweener in gold pumps at 40 paces with one glowering stare! She saw that school almost through its final stages of an architectural overhaul before Cancer claimed her corporeal spirit and ended her career prematurely. And for that I say again Respect!

Cancer fucked my mum over royally!! Although in remission, she has suffered the after effects of the treatment ever since. Her digestive tract is riddled by lesions which have contributed to numerous hospital stays over the years due to severe bouts of bloating. In fact she has suffered with a resolute asian nobility numerous ignominious conditions throughout the her post-cancer years. Lesser men would have baulked but not her ... and for that I love her.

My mum is a mummly mum! She's not out there storming any barricades beyond the homefront. Religion has in many ways put paid to that. But my mum can cook! I remember the culinary delights brought home after her chinese cooking classes at the local community centre. We were blessed with all manner of regional delights every time we sat down for our communal repast. It is a skill I have inherited somehow somewhen along the way and for that I am extremely grateful.

I also admire my mum for having put up with dad for so long ... ha! I admire my dad for staying close to mum now that the tables have turned somewhat ... I only hope that I can be strong when my time comes whichever way fate pitches our tables. I am jealous of what they have and saddened by the fact that at the end of the day ... some things can mean so little.