My Everything

I was crying through a microphone in a hall packed with people. The most embarrassing moment of my childhood and the funniest of my adulthood. I saw my mother in the audience, she was smiling. The thought of how I had messed up the welcome speech of our school's anniversary combined with how I thought my mother would be disappointed in me made me cry with more passion. I cried till my teacher led me off the stage.

I always knew my mother was fast but that day she was inhumanely fast. As soon as I entered the green room my mother whom I had left in the audience was beside me. She consoled me by assuring whatever I managed to say was perfect and it wasn't my fault at all. Her words made me strong enough for the next program I was supposed to be in.

I brought my mind back from its nostalgic wanderings. My hands were wrapped around my mother as she chatted with me. I loved her.

During those annual celebrations, I always looked with envy at those kids who had stay-at-home moms who fussed over them. But now when I think about it, I feel proud of the mom I have. She wasn't there to dress me up for the functions but she made sure she never missed even one. She wasn't there to fuss over me but there was nothing I lacked because my mom made sure my backpack was better equipped than "Dora the Explorer's ". She taught me it was possible to balance work and family.

I looked up at her smiling face talking animatedly to me and gently pressed a kiss on her cheek. She was always everything I wanted her to be. She was my mother.