(Today May 9, is also my mother’s birthday. She has passed away for 5 years now, at only 50 years of age. Mom, in the past 5 years, I had made it and then I lost it all. Today, I stand alone, defeated, lonely, heavy-hearted, lost all I had and more, except this spirit you gave me. I will follow your good example of never giving up… I will go through this difficult time in my life. I will not only survive, but thrive – like you did – in the face of life’s unforgiving blows. Thank you mom, I miss you. )

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The following story came through my email and sharing with everyone here:

This story begins when I was a child: I was born poor. Often we hadn’t
enough to eat. Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave me her portion
of rice. While she was transferring her rice into my bowl, she would say
“Eat this rice, son! I’m not hungry.”
This was Mother’s First Lie.

As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in a river near our house;
she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a little bit
more nutritious food for my growth. Once she had caught just two fish, she
would make fish soup. While I was eating the soup, mother would sit beside
me and eat the what was still left on the bone of the fish I had eaten, My
heart was touched when I saw it. Once I gave the other fish to her on my
chopstick but she immediately refused it and said, “Eat this fish, son! I
don’t really like fish.”
This was Mother’s Second Lie.

Then, in order to fund my education, Mother went to a Match Factory to
bring home some used matchboxes, which she filled with fresh matchsticks.
This helped her get some money to cover our needs. One wintry night I awoke
to find Mother filling the matchboxes by candlelight. So I said, “Mother,
go to sleep; it’s late: you can continue working tomorrow morning.” Mother
smiled and said “Go to sleep, son! I’m not tired.”
This was Mother’s Third Lie.

When I had to sit my Final Examination, Mother accompanied me. After dawn,
Mother waited for me for hours in the heat of the sun. When the bell rang,
I ran to meet her.. Mother embraced me and poured me a glass of tea that
she had prepared in a thermos. The tea was not as strong as my Mother’s
love, Seeing Mother covered with perspiration, I at once gave her my glass
and asked her to drink too. Mother said “Drink, son! I’m not thirsty!”.
This was Mother’s Fourth Lie.

After Father’s death, Mother had to play the role of a single parent. She
held on to her former job; she had to fund our needs alone. Our family’s
life was more complicated. We suffered from starvation. Seeing our
family’s condition worsening, my kind Uncle who lived near my house came to
help us solve our problems big and small. Our other neighbors saw that we
were poverty stricken so they often advised my mother to marry again. But
Mother refused to remarry saying “I don’t need love.”
This was Mother’s Fifth Lie.

After I had finished my studies and gotten a job, it was time for my old
Mother to retire but she carried on going to the market every morning just
to sell a few vegetables. I kept sending her money but she was steadfast
and even sent the money back to me. She said, “I have enough money..”
That was Mother’s Sixth Lie.

I continued my part-time studies for my Master’s Degree. Funded by the
American Corporation for which I worked, I succeeded in my studies. With a
big jump in my salary, I decided to bring Mother to enjoy life in America
but Mother didn’t want to bother her son; she said to me “I’m not used to
high living.”
That was Mother’s Seventh Lie.

In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had to be hospitalized.
Now living far across the ocean, I went home to visit Mother who was
bedridden after an operation. Mother tried to smile but I was heartbroken
because she was so thin and feeble but Mother said, “Don’t cry, son! I’m
not in pain.”
That was Mother’s Eighth Lie.

Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died. YES, MOTHER WAS AN ANGEL!
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 her Heart of gold,
“E” is for her Eyes with love-light shining in them,
“R” means Right, and right she’ll always be,

Put them all together, they spell “MOTHER” a word that means the world to
me.

For those of you who are lucky to be still blessed with your Mom’s presence
on Earth, this story is beautiful. For those who aren’t so blessed, this is
even more beautiful.

“HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY”