One looked after me so that the other could go to work and provide for me.
My wedding day will be dedicated to them. The women I'd be so proud and honoured to kneel down and serve tea to.
The women who bathed me, clothed me, fed me and educated me. The women who cooked and cleaned, washed and ironed, all because they love me.
My grandmother looked after me when Mum went to work. If she hadn't, Mum wouldn't have been able to return to her teaching job just three months after having me. Back then, my grandmother lived in a semi-detached house with a nice garden. I grew up playing with the dogs and my cousin, who is four years younger than me. I was a tom-boy who loved to ride bikes, catch spiders, kill fleas, play with He-man and Lego.
My grandmother's favourite recollection of those days would be when she heard a loud scream from me while she was bathing my cousin. She told the toddler to sit in the tub while she came to the backyard to check on me. I had plucked off some chilli off the plant and smeared it all over my eyes. It stung bad and I shouted, "I'm going blind, I'm going blind!" She thought I was an idiot, and gosh she was right. What was I thinking? Not much I guess, if I was only five.
I cried during my first few days at the kindergarten, so my grandmother would come on the school bus with me and peep through the classroom window to make sure I was okay.
When I was six I had a terrible stomach bug which got me hospitalised. I couldn't eat anything and would roll around in pain. When I got out of hospital, my grandmother made me minced pork congee to take to school for lunch everyday. Twenty-two years on, I still remember that comforting taste.
My mother had a hard life. She always said the two men in her life let her down. My father wasn't exactly the greatest husband in town and the nice man she became very close to after her divorce died suddenly of cancer. Since then she has decided she was better off on her own.
She is the strongest woman I know. She raised me on a civil servant's salary and put me through two degrees at British universities. She was firm with me but she showered me with lots of love too. She leads by example and always has interesting life's lessons to share. I know I can always go to her to advice. Because of that, I have a lot of respect for her.
When I didn't finish my rice, she would tell me I'd have a very husband with a lot of acne. So I always finished my rice, and she was right, my husband-to-be does not have pock-marks! Grandma may be illterate but hey she does know a thing or two.
Sadly her health has deteriorated rapidly in recent years. Nobody lives forever and neither will Grandma. It has always been her wish to see me get hitched and I know she will be the happiest person on that day. That's the reason why I'm trying so hard to plan a beautiful event where everyone, including her, will feel excited and happy about.
Sadly her health has deteriorated rapidly in recent years. Nobody lives forever and neither will Grandma. It has always been her wish to see me get hitched and I know she will be the happiest person on that day. That's the reason why I'm trying so hard to plan a beautiful event where everyone, including her, will feel excited and happy about.
My mother had a hard life. She always said the two men in her life let her down. My father wasn't exactly the greatest husband in town and the nice man she became very close to after her divorce died suddenly of cancer. Since then she has decided she was better off on her own.
She is the strongest woman I know. She raised me on a civil servant's salary and put me through two degrees at British universities. She was firm with me but she showered me with lots of love too. She leads by example and always has interesting life's lessons to share. I know I can always go to her to advice. Because of that, I have a lot of respect for her.
Our relationship was a little strained during my growing up years but as I grew older she saw me more as an adult and started valuing my opinions and wishes. Although I knew she didn't like the idea of me moving to Wales, she still supported me by saying when she was younger she didn't follow her heart to do the things she wanted to. Now she wants me to go out there to get what I want so that I wouldn't have regrets like she does when I grow old.
My father will not be joining us on this occasion because my Mum would really prefer not to have him there. I feel bad for keeping him in the dark but I really want my Mum to be able to enjoy herself on that day rather than having to put up with the guy who caused her so much pain.
I owe my achievements to these two women who brought me up on the right values and outlook on life.
Join me in honouring them on that day.
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