Mum Always Knows

I sent a message to my Mom over whatsapp today, telling her I am missing her and I wish I could come and hug her. Promptly came her reply, “Is all well? Are you sad?”.

Hmm, I thought for a moment, “I don’t think I am sad. What made Mom think that?” And then after a few moments, I realized, I was indeed sad, for reasons that I didn’t even acknowledge to myself. Till that reply from my Mom, I hadn’t even allowed myself to be sad. How in the hell could Mum have known? Well, I knew the answer for this one. Mum always knows.

Toyna usually calls me as soon as she gets home from school. I already know the reason for her call even before I pick the call. She says, “My stomach is paining.” I know she actually wants to say, “Mum, I don’t want to go to Taekwondo class.” She says, “Mum, I am not hungry for dinner.”, I know she actually wants to say, “I would rather save my appetite for the ice cream after dinner.” When she doesn’t say anything at all, I know there is a lot that she actually wants to say, but words are not allowing her to. Mum always knows. As my own children grow up, I feel the invisible, strong bond between all of us constantly holding us together.

As I settled into adulthood, leaving my mom thousands of miles away, I felt the same bond with my mom would probably weaken because of the time and space. I thought maybe my mom would probably not understand me, that well, anymore. But her message today, proved me wrong. Even when I, myself, could not understand me, she could still read me over a simple phone message.

Just like my mom still knows me, I hope I will also know my children wherever they go in life. I hope my children can always message me to hug me when they feel alone. I hope they never feel the need to lie to me, cause even if they do, Mum always knows.