Listening ear

When I was younger, I used to come home everyday and parked myself at the kitchen table telling mummy all the happening for the day while she do the dishes/ cooked / do laundry. On average, mummy will have to endure my rantings for at least half an hour before I would decide to stop and run off to do my things. But if I do remember anything that was missed out, I would go back to the same place again and continue my stories.

This goes on throughout my school years. From primary to secondary to poly and even part time uni. It also explains why she know all my close friends even though they never meet her before. Heck, she even know the guy who had a crush on me in Secondary school and can memorized his house phone number since he used to call me daily at 1 point.

Mummy was a housewife during my younger days and since she don't have much interaction with the outside world, she listen to my stories day in day out.

The roles however got reversed when she took up the job of being a part time domestic helper where she now also have stories to share after a day's work.

When I was in polytechnic it was the peak of her career since she need the most money she could get her hands on during that time to see us through school. She would take on 2 jobs everyday with venues ranging from East to West to Central Singapore.

Back then, she didn't have time to cook dinner and on days I do not have to teach tuition after school, I would travel to where ever she is working to wait for her to knock off and buy dinner before travelling home together.

I must admit, I don't helped out much when I go up to her workplace. She finds my action too slow or sometimes I would be dead beat from school and start to sleep whenever I reach her workplace. I especially love going to her Caucasian employers' work place since they mostly stayed at apartments/ condominiums where I don't have a chance to visit normally. And I remember fondly how much I love the Kungfu master rat toy that 1 of them have in his toilet. Never failed to play with it when I go up.

From then on, mummy would update me on her day's work while on the way home. Believe me when I say update, it's literally on every small detail that she picked up. Sometimes it seems to be she might be snooping around a little while working. Like how she know the pay of some of the employers, brand of clothes they wear, where they are going for holiday, how 1 of the employer cheated on his wife while she went back to their home country for holiday. Seriously, I know more about their dark secrets than they ever know.

Unlike most of us who worked in the office with stories of colleagues to share, mummy only have what she observed while cleaning since she usually don't see the employer. But it is enough for her to call me everyday to report.

Once my colleague told me that she finds me very patient with my mummy although she calls and tells me about some random stuff that she suddenly recall and I would listening patiently and chat with her for a while on my way to or back from lunch.

You know what? I realised this is the only thing I can do for her to repay her patience with me when I was telling her about my day at school when younger. Like the patience she showed me back then, I think it should be only right that I showed her the equal level of patience no matter how insignificant the information she shared is to me.

Many a times it's the comfort knowing that there is someone who you can talk to when in need rather than any thing else, especially for the elderly.

Happy Mother's day Mummy. Hope you have a great time in US and I will be ready to hear your travelling stories when you are back home :)