Revelations about my mom

I hate to say this but I don't really understand my mom, after knowing her for 31 years.

The fact that I did not stay with her for half my life may have contributed to my ignorance, but somehow it feels like an excuse.

Some of my posting about my mom still stands; she is a lazy, irresponsible, loud-mouthed, cynical and greedy person.

Although I am the oldest of her sons, I seem to be the least important; she only get my name right after calling my two brothers' names. She's also clueless to what I like to eat.

However, as my time spent with her increases this year, I have been constantly surprised by what she is capable of.

When my aunt was spending her remaining months with us, my mom took charge of nursing and caring for her,although she was complaining every bit of the way.

When my aunt passed away, my mom became the chief coordinator of the funeral, handling most of the administrative stuff; still complaining, of course.

These actions were a surprise coming from a person who refuse to work for years, when she is only still 50.

From the actions, I can sense her love for her youngest sibling, which propel her to take on huge responsibilities that she normally shirks from.

While I always felt that my sense of responsibility was never inherited from her, that difficult period saw her rose to the occasion and prove my hypothesis wrong. ( The cynical part is definitely from her, so too is the weak stomach and greedy appetite)

If life was like a comic book, she would be a reluctant heroine, only revealing her true self during times of crisis. (Although her portly figure would make her less than heroine material).

Recently, I picked up a Chinese-language book discarded by someone, and thought of reading myself. However, I never really had the time for it, so I pass it to my mom, as she is Chinese-educated.

She managed to surprise me again.

She never gone passed Secondary 2 when she was younger, and she is never the studying type. However the speed that she 'devoured' the book puts me and any other students younger than me to shame.

She concentrated on that book and almost finished it the next day, and I can tell she really enjoyed reading, maybe due to her interest in Chinese romance stories from last time.

I think no one in the family is so keen about reading than her. I find it a struggle to read a book in a week.

Talk about 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'. I wondered if she never got married and had me at a young age, maybe life would be so different for her.

(She's still unable to get my name right the first time, but she's trying) :-)