Ammachi

This one is dedicated to the most bad ass girl I have ever seen, my super hero, my safety net, my mom.

Ammachi, how can I define her, she can’t be defined, she can’t be put under a label and presented, she does not come under one name tag. When my dad died, she must be in her early 30’s, she could have thought of moving on and getting married again. She chose the rough road, she kept her kids closer to her heart. There was a society who questioned her in every turn, there was her husband’s family who doubted her, there were two kids who didn’t know what was happening around them. Boy, did she give up, no she kept on going, she fought for her kids, stood firm on her ground.

Though I say she loves my brother more (trust me I know I am her favorite) she never treated us differently, instead she taught us to respect each other, she cultivated an everlasting bond between us, she molded us finely. She taught us to be independent. I had my own room when I was 10, did my laundry, ironed my cloths, packed my bag, used to do grocery shopping, started travelling alone, knew how to help myself, was a bit spoiled by my brother though 😉. She never asked us to study all the time or pushed anything down our throat, she used to say if you study and do well you are going to yield the benefit, and she is right.

At times, I blame her for being the coolest mom on earth, I used to ask her why you never stop me, why can’t you be a bit mean and like other moms and her silence said “baby, there are lessons of life which you need to experience for yourself which nobody else can teach you, so I had to let you go”. And the truth is I secretly admire her for stopping herself from protecting me (I know it was not easy) and letting me fall, that’s how she taught me to stand up on my own.

My mom gave me all the freedom a girl could ever think of, gave me wings to fly, inspired me to be more like her (can’t fit into those shoes). She told me it’s ok to be different, to follow my heart, well I had to listen to her after all she herself is a rebel. She told it’s ok to fall in love, told me to follow my inner voice, told me I don’t have to please anyone, taught me to love the simplicity of life and not get scared of the complexity people create.

My love for books, thanks again to Ammachi, she is the one who took us to the magical world of books, she had her own library, no matter how tough a day was, we always saw her taking time out to read. She is the one who made us realize that a book can be our best friend and worst enemy, it depends on how wisely we make our choices and how well we can interpret the writings of great authors. She used to say that one will always find the answer they search for, whether it will be positive or negative depends on the mindset with which they initiated the search.

   

I can write forever about mom, for me she is not an ordinary woman, my journey in this world began with her.

Jeyaisha John