Archive for August, 2008

**Mother’s Day as I recall**

August 12 is known to Thai people as Mother’s Day as it’s the birthday of Her Majesty the Queen of Thailand. She is regarded as the mother for all Thais. In commemoration of Her Majesty, this day is recognized as National Mother’s Day and is granted as a nationwide public holiday. All buildings throughout Thailand are decorated with her portrait and garlanded with flowers and many colored lights. Display of fireworks is typical around the kingdom. At school, the students take part in a special ceremony to honor HM the queen as well as their mothers. The students show their appreciations towards their mothers by presenting them with the garlands - made of jasmine flowers.

When I was young, I loved all public holidays. I got to ride in a car around Bangkok to enjoy the lights decorated on the buildings. (pai-doo-fai = meaning to go see the lights) was a magic phrase. I would try so hard to be a good girl all day so that I would be allowed to go. Any usual naughty thing I always did would be postponed or procastinated, suppressed, or even temporary erased from my mind until the holiday passed by. It was very exciting to leave my house at night and the feeling was too overwhelming or inundated for me. I guess it was like “W-A-L-K” word for my dog. Well, I have gotten to digress for a little bit. ‘Rain’, my border collier understood the word ‘walk’ in English so we started to spell it out just to tease her. She was just too smart for her own good. Later on, we just spoke a whole sentence in Thai and that darn dog couldn’t still be fooled easily. She would sit in front of the door with a leash on her mouth waiting, “Come on, you guys. Didn’t you just say the magic word?” I believe she enjoyed walking us. Pulling and digging her paws on the walkway spoke louder. I remember one day my next-door neighbor gave a photo. Looking at it, I burst out laughing. They were lovely old couples; I would say they were my very first friends in America. Anyway, it was Rain and I on the picuture. That photo told the whole story; they thought it was funny and cute so they took it. My arm was stretched out and the dog was pulling all of her mights. She was 25 pounds and I was 97, very skinny indeed. I was not inured to that kind of hard labour.

Well, I’m a bit late on posting my writing about Mother’s day for there had been so many things going on to prevent me from fulfill my own commitment. ‘Late’ is better than ‘Never’.

M – O – T – H – E – R
‘M’ is for the million things she gave me.
‘O’ means only that she’s growing old.
‘T’ is for the tears she shed to save me.
‘H’ is for the heat of purest gold.
‘E’ is for her eyes, with love-light shining.
‘R’ means right, and right she’ll always be.

** Originally from Yindii.com ***