mommy's girl

funny how much gentler & more soothing my mom's voice seems now that we're thousands of miles apart.

well, at least this runaway journey, though rife with challenges and hell lot of pain, has taught me quite a number of things. one of which is to learn to appreciate all those that i've taken for granted for so long.

like my family.

i guess it's true that the closer someone is, the more we take for granted, and the more we tend to hurt. think for a moment-- if you had a bad day at work and a friend called & asked you out for dinner, you won't be raising your voice at him/her or adopt a very snappy tone yah? but what if that call was from your mother or father asking you what time you'll be home for dinner? a lot of times we'd put on a very impatient & abrasive tone, telling them that you're very busy and don't have time to talk.

guilty as charged?

i know i am.

but now, every phonecall from home is so precious. and i find myself not wanting to hang up. i was talking to my mom earlier, and was regaling tales of my kitchen adventures to her. my mom was all at once amused, surprised & rather pleased that i actually turned out to have inherited her cooking genes. i guess no one ever saw that one coming as i hardly cooked anything beyond instand noodles or pasta back home. but now-- ha! i can simply throw some ingredients together, add a pinch of that & a dash of that & voila! i'm not tooting my own horn, but i must say i do have a flair for cooking!

anyways, back to the conversation with my mom-- the sound of her laughter when i described my great cookouts was like pretty windchimes moving in the gentle breeze... so soothing. i guess it could be likened to how a mother feels when she hears her baby giggle & laugh... it felt so good to hear her laugh, especially since she's just gone through a harrowing time, having lost her own mother...

i miss home. and i can't wait to go home & give my mom a giant hug.