My Eyes are Open. Mouth, not so. Until now.

Motherhood is a blessing.

It is also an eye-opener for me. I know now what my own mother went through, and that makes me appreciate her all the more. I grew up always knowing she had sacrificed so much for us and made us feel ever so loved.

So now I have a much better sense of appreciation for my mother.

For one, she doesn't nag. She doesn't impose her ideas on us and she doesn't force us to do anything. She only encourages and I have never heard a 'you're not good enough'. She trusts us completely. She may not be the best cook in the world, but she educated her children very well with healthy eating and some table manners. She supplied/s all our emotional needs and treats us with respect and care. She talks to us only with love and in love. She doesn't shout at us for no reason. She let us run our own lives.

Over the past twelve months I have been observing all sorts of mothers. And learning from them. (or not.)

ChristArt.com

Sometimes, to the Asian parents who are a generation or two older than I am and who seem to know it all, I wish I could tell them what I truly thought of their forceful opinions and superstitious techniques. But no, being Asian you're not supposed to 'answer back'! So my mouth is sealed most times. Bottom line is, people these days are more educated than 30 to 50 years ago, so please hold your tongue when you feel the need to say 'oh MY kids never did that,' or 'I NEVER did this,' or 'you MUST do this,' or 'this is better for the baby,'. It doesn't necessarily have to be in verbal form, sometimes a dirty look is all that is needed. Here I am referring to silly traditional superstitious things people used to do because they were not as educated as today.

I once brought little 3month old E out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. He was screaming and crying because it was past his bedtime and he was hungry, and tired. So I took him outside. An Asian man was standing at the entrance having a smoke. He frowned and looked at me as if I were dumb, saying, 'hoi hoi! Baby bely cole la better yu bring in! Don be out here! Haiyah! ' Hmm. Need I say more? A smoking Asian dude telling me off thinking he knows everything about my baby- when he is trying to kill us all.
Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of good points about Asians. One thing I don't understand is, their need to constantly nag and judge others. Well ok, not all. Only some of the ones I've met.

Maybe this is what they call 'generation gap' , or maybe it is a serious clash of culture and beliefs. And I only say 'Asians' because these are the group of people I am perhaps most familiar with. Perhaps other ethnic groups do the same, or maybe this is how the world works.
Whatever it is, it's driving me totally nuts.Conclusion:
Lack of sleep + constant nagging + extreme busyness = flustered, irritated, nutty person.

So now, my mouth is once again shut for the better of mankind.