It's 23rd of July and it's my Mam's birthday!
She turned 69 this year.
She's in Jakarta right now and I'm far away in Delft so I decided to write a little birthday post(card) to celebrate her birthday!
This is her, I believe in her late twenties, on a trip to Japan with Pap.
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| Pretty! |
What can I tell you about my Mami?
She's the strongest and kindest person I know. She's a nurturer and a nester.
She fights for her children, and for those moments she fights for me I can only be grateful. Mam doesn't need much to be happy, only for her children to make it in life. To everyone she meets, Mam always says my children and grandchildren are my pride and joy.
Time for some funny anecdote! (Maybe just funny for me ...)
When I was about 5, 6, 7 years old (or maybe even older!), I would always get warm chocolate milk in the morning. Maybe because I was such a baby, or Mam just spoils me, I'd get this milk while I'm still sleeping. She'd come to my bed in the morning with a cup of warm milk complete with a straw. I'm laughing so hard as I'm typing this!
She tapped my softly on the cheek with her finger, or she'd give me morning kisses. I guess it's to alert me that milk is here. And when she did that, of course I would know that milk's here and I'd open my mouth like a baby and I get my straw and start drinking my milk half asleep. Just like a little baby!
Sometimes just for fun she came to me while I'm sleeping and just tapped my cheeks so I'd open my mouth looking for straws when there was none! When my sisters found out about this trick, they did it to me too! We still laugh about it today!
I guess Mam taught me how to cook.
She cooks from instinct, and I got a little bit of that. If I ask her about some dish, she never gives me the recipe, only the ingredients.
I don't think she loves cooking the way I love cooking. What she has is the passion to feed and care for the people she loves. She wakes up an hour before everybody to prepare breakfast and food for my family before they leave for work. In Jakarta, if you don't leave the house at 6 AM you'll be stuck in morning traffic for hours!
For the birthday cake I decided to make cheesecake that's my Oma's specialty. She made it so good one time, my brother was suspicious and asked her if she put any flavor enhancer in her cakes!
It's a vanilla genoise sponge with some vanilla buttercream and generous sprinkling of grated cheese. I added some strawberry for some tartness to cut in all the sweetness. I'll share the recipe on a future post!
She's the strongest and kindest person I know. She's a nurturer and a nester.
She fights for her children, and for those moments she fights for me I can only be grateful. Mam doesn't need much to be happy, only for her children to make it in life. To everyone she meets, Mam always says my children and grandchildren are my pride and joy.
Time for some funny anecdote! (Maybe just funny for me ...)
When I was about 5, 6, 7 years old (or maybe even older!), I would always get warm chocolate milk in the morning. Maybe because I was such a baby, or Mam just spoils me, I'd get this milk while I'm still sleeping. She'd come to my bed in the morning with a cup of warm milk complete with a straw. I'm laughing so hard as I'm typing this!
She tapped my softly on the cheek with her finger, or she'd give me morning kisses. I guess it's to alert me that milk is here. And when she did that, of course I would know that milk's here and I'd open my mouth like a baby and I get my straw and start drinking my milk half asleep. Just like a little baby!
Sometimes just for fun she came to me while I'm sleeping and just tapped my cheeks so I'd open my mouth looking for straws when there was none! When my sisters found out about this trick, they did it to me too! We still laugh about it today!
I guess Mam taught me how to cook.
She cooks from instinct, and I got a little bit of that. If I ask her about some dish, she never gives me the recipe, only the ingredients.
I don't think she loves cooking the way I love cooking. What she has is the passion to feed and care for the people she loves. She wakes up an hour before everybody to prepare breakfast and food for my family before they leave for work. In Jakarta, if you don't leave the house at 6 AM you'll be stuck in morning traffic for hours!
For the birthday cake I decided to make cheesecake that's my Oma's specialty. She made it so good one time, my brother was suspicious and asked her if she put any flavor enhancer in her cakes!
It's a vanilla genoise sponge with some vanilla buttercream and generous sprinkling of grated cheese. I added some strawberry for some tartness to cut in all the sweetness. I'll share the recipe on a future post!
Of course, on crucial moments when she had to fight the hardest for us she always shows up and ready to go.
But it's never really those big moments that shows her true love and passion for her family. It's the daily struggle and effort to care for us, the early mornings where she has to prepare the day, the phone calls she has to make to the garage to help my brother and sisters with their car insurance, the bags food and drinks she always prepares before we leave the house in case we get stuck in traffic, be the place where I vent my frustration while being a total whine and sometimes unkind, a wonderfully loving and generous grandmother to her grandchildren, a completely loving and supportive partner to Pap and still a caring daughter for Oma.
I realized how much I still need her a couple of years back when I got really sick and in the middle of the night I went to my parents' bed and slept next to her just for comfort. She still gives us back and foot rub if we ever got sick.
But it's never really those big moments that shows her true love and passion for her family. It's the daily struggle and effort to care for us, the early mornings where she has to prepare the day, the phone calls she has to make to the garage to help my brother and sisters with their car insurance, the bags food and drinks she always prepares before we leave the house in case we get stuck in traffic, be the place where I vent my frustration while being a total whine and sometimes unkind, a wonderfully loving and generous grandmother to her grandchildren, a completely loving and supportive partner to Pap and still a caring daughter for Oma.
I realized how much I still need her a couple of years back when I got really sick and in the middle of the night I went to my parents' bed and slept next to her just for comfort. She still gives us back and foot rub if we ever got sick.
Everything good that's ever happen in my life is only because of her constant love and prayer. I don't know how to thank her for the countless hours she spent taking care of me, even to this day. I can only hope and pray for her health and happiness for more years to come.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Love you Miss you Mam ..
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| Too cool for school. |
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