How did Mother's Day begin?

I just found this article by chance, some Yahoo advertisement about Mother's Day...

Mothers (most of 'em anyway) are great. They're loving and selfless and will stand behind their kids no matter how damning the prosecution's evidence. For these reasons and more, a woman named Anna M. Jarvis started the Mother's Day tradition in the early 20th century.
Ms. Jarvis, though never a mother herself, was extremely devoted to her own mom. After the elder Jarvis passed away in 1905, Anna began seeking ways to honor not only her own mom, but all mothers. She started by organizing a Mother's Day Memorial Committee at her local church, but that was just the beginning.

Over the years, Jarvis wrote letters and gave speeches pushing for a national holiday. Alas, the vast majority "fell on deaf ears." Still, Jarvis pressed on, and by 1909, "forty-five states, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico observed the day." In 1914, a resolution was passed by Congress and approved by President Woodrow Wilson, declaring the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. The holiday has been around ever since.

It's worth noting that Jarvis wanted to keep Mother's Day from becoming commercialized. Obviously she wasn't able to do that, but you can still celebrate the way Ms. Jarvis intended -- skip the overpriced flowers and just spend a little time with Mom instead

Mama you...

Its was exactly a year ago that I recieved an email from Sher. It was a poem fit for Mother's Day, written by her friend. (Hope you dont mind sher? :) She said "It kind of hits chords you never knew they might because it's so so honest..." Well, I think so too ;p


Mama you raised me right...

From the cradle of your arms you taught me love
With every tear that i shed you showed me that
sometimes real men need to cry
for it is in their weakness they will find strength

Your very essence flows through me,
nutured in a perfect womb
4eva a part of me as i chart a path in this life
safe in your endless prayers and never failing thoughts,
i love you 4 always, my queen - the best part of me...

As we write our 'mother - son book'
there have been pages of hurt and pain
but they conclude with chapters of our unfaltering love
our endless bond - fashioned from Heaven

I may be gone for many seasons
but from you i am never far
for i feel u with every beat of my heart
and face the tomorrows guided by the foundation that you lay
preparing for the struggle of being a better man and triumph
of making you proud...

because Mama you raised me right.

Will I....??

It's 1am. 32 hours away from yet another Dental Materials test. What is wrong with me? A wasted weekend, a wasted monday night and another wasted cup of coffee. Where have you been Mr. Motivation? You elusive piece of s***!! I've only briefly seen you in my early secondary school life...you left as quietly as you came. Hold on..am I in self denial?? Am I making excuses to comfort myself, blaming it on "motivation"? Hmmm...maybe I am, maybe I'm just plain lazy...why is it that everytime it's close to exams or when the results come back to mock me, do I feel like this?

Sure, India has been a wild experience, a simple life. It's no where compared to KL, unless you were born in the late 40s. Oh how beautiful KL has become, with a humble home at the junction of Lorong Jarak. Its only two and a half time zones away, about 1/6 away around the world. But thats no excuse. I'm not the best student here, not even in my small class. I want to be, but reality is I cant go with this kind of attitude. In fact, I'll never get anywhere in life with this kind of attitude.

It's nothing to do with motivation. Since primary school days, we've been told to wear our uniforms neatly, keep our hair short, dont talk while the teacher is teaching, finish your homework, sleep early, wake up early, line up upon entering class, bow when you greet a teacher etc. Then you reach secondary shcool, pretty much the same, keep your nails short, keep a gel-free hairdo, dont sleep in class, dont skip class, and the list goes on. Its the same for scouts or any society for that matter, 10 push-ups per missing item of your full uniform, 10 push-ups per minute late to fall-in. And if your lucky, frog jump round the 'tapak', yipee!

Why go through the torture? Why do we follow stupid rules? Why must we always listen to the Penolong Kanan Hal Ehwal Murid? Fear of public caning? Hmmm...no no. I guess one word can sum it up. Besides academic reasons, discipline completes the word "education". Its one thing that I've never really aquired. I've obeyed, but thats it. The message was always clear. Even at home it was clear, my father's stern face will I never forget. It has occured way too often...

Discipline doesnt exactly hit the right spot. Its self-discipline. All those years of education, I've only managed a handful of As...which has all been forgotten and might I add, quite useless at this point of time. It doesnt matter whether you come from Catholic High School or SMK Pulau Ketam, it's how much you absorb and aquire at the end of it that really matters. Its what makes you persevere in the future. Its the "stuff" that matters in life. Not to mention when your doing a course like BDS or MBBS or any other course I presume.

Still which brings me back to my age old complain...Why won't I study? I mean, I have what I need, and I have what I want (almost...). A nice laptop to use, a nice table, a chair, a lamp in a single, spacious, fully air-conditioned room. Loads of maggi mee in my larder, pineapple tarts, oreos...and oh, not to mention a temporary new roommate from Perak...haha. (He's sleeping btw, using my extra blankett too!)

SIGH...

Here I am typing this entry, my book is still staring at me. Its mocking my laziness damn it! Look, its doing it again! You know whats my problem? I complain too much...my father had much tougher times when he was a student, and he doesnt complain at all, in fact, he doesnt like to talk about it. But look where he is now, and he didnt get there by complaining. I respect him wholely, and I'll be glad if I become half of what he is, rather, what he's made out of. People say I look like him, thats about the closest I get to being something like him. I'm proud to be his son, and to have brothers whom I look up to. I know I can be among them, I'm not that far I think...

Right now...it all begins with this stupid green book in front of me. It's not too late to stuff what I need to know for the coming test. Oh I will do it. I'm somewhat a rebel...but mostly a rebel for other non-important things. Not this time though...I've studied the chapters before, I can do it again. I have to tame my inner demons, show them who's boss. It isnt easy being far away from home, I guess it makes you more mature, but only if you manage to battle through it. The reward is more than just a certificate or knowledge or character.....it's blissful wisdom....

SIGH

This clearly isn't just a class test, whatever it is...I will get it right this time....will I...??

Closer to home...

Story 1

It was a dark and rainy day...in the afternoon to be exact - typical KL weather. I was waiting for the car at the lobby of KLCC and saw the usual string of people queueing for taxis. A white-haired man, probably in his 60s, rushed out under the rain to a taxi with his hand covering his head, opened the door and asked the driver if he was going his way.

My first impression was "kiasu"!! But after what seemed to be a successful arrangement, the man closed the door, and signaled to his wife, who came immediately. He waited for her patiently under the rain until she came, opened the back door for her, waited until she got in and closed the door. Then he opened the front door for himself and got in...I think he was a true gentleman. I mean, he could have easily signaled to her to come and get into the car first!


Story 2

A van approached a church and stopped his vehicle, as if waiting for someone to come. True enough when my aunt came out, she was approached by a stranger with a stack of 50sing dollar notes. Quite a thick stack to be exact.

He said " Aunty, aunty...here take this money!!" Startled, my aunt clutched her handbag tighter, recoiled and declined the money.

"No aunty! you must take it...last time you helped me and gave me some money, now I've become rich...you see, I bought this van."

"It's ok, you can keep it, I dont want your money", still shocked..my aunt left in a hurry.

It was not until she reached home when she began to think about that man. Strangely, he looked vaguely familiar. She gave it a little more thought, and realised that she did help a man once while she was at church. She remembered giving him 30dollars or probably more, many many years ago.

I suppose small actions and gestures can make a difference. I'm sure that old couple has had a successful marriage even after so long; and that stranger probably has a changed life because of someone felt generous that day. Whether its between family, or stangers...think. Just think of the difference you can make, if you bother...

Inevitable Love; elusive Death...

Doesnt make sense? No? A paradox perhaps?

Love and death, love and lost...they're all similar in one way or another. They could both tear and wear and rape the strongest of hearts. Cruel, cold and agonisingly long. So why cant it they be interchagable? They both make you feel crushed inside, both take a long time to get over, and they somehow make you reflect on yourself. When one falls out of love, death appears more of a reality; When one dies, love naturally fades. They seem to dominate our emotions, make you feel smaller on the inside and sadder on the outside...I must say that of all the feelings, these two have to be king, afterall they are the backbone of most of our problems.

Sure, love can be a bliss, but for how long? No one can tell. Forever? Bullshit...thats not true love, that becomes security. You wont leave because you might not find another half just as good or better, or worse, you leave becuse you did! You're afraid to confront you're friends or family. You dont want to feel the agony of a breakup/divorce. You're afaid of what people might talk of you, of what they might say, and of what they might think. You dont want to face the questions of "Why Why and Why?" Secretly, you're not confident of yourself, can you live alone without him/her? Who's gonna support me/the children? Will I lose half my property if I were to divorce? Get real...most of us are hypocrites, we're lying to ourselves. Is love really that "pure"? Think about it carefully...you know the answer. I'll tell you what love is, love is cruel...it draws you into that pool of all those "impurities", in exchange for a sense of pride, "...I have a boyfriend, I'd do anything for him; my girlfriend is the sweetest little thing I know etc..." (is that so?), in exhange for occasional butterflies in your stomach, in exhcange for being treated with a special kinda attention, in exhange of a pretty-looking face....Bah!!

Like love, life is temporary. Death comes whether you like it or not. It probably is another form of so called "love". It affects your emotions negatively, it just gets you. Death of a family member or someone dear to you is a very sad thing to happen. But of course some deaths, to a certain extent, like love, is not truly genuine. Do you honestly think the people running orphanages or old folk's homes gives a damn if one of their inputs have died? Well, maybe some..but I can gurantee that if they were within their power to do/get anything they wanted to in life, they certainly wouldnt settle for that job. We've heard of they saying, "Where there's a will, there are relatives." People moan and people cry at a funeral..if not, what would others think? You're here for the food? Or just to show your face? We're all selfish and are moved/pressured into doing things. Guys flirt because they want attention, or girls to think them funny. They play on pity for attention, which ironically, makes them pitiful.

Go ahead and feel offended, I dont really care.. death sucks, love too. If you are, it simply means that you've never really seen the full side of this world cuz you've been just too comfortable with your life. It is full of hippocracy, and predators. I do believe you're aware of everything, but ur just lying to protect yourself. Dont.

Death sucks. Love too. Obviously, I'm mildly affected by these two plastic scenarios, which is probably why I'm over reacting....Sherry died this morning. She wasnt shown as much love as I'd like to admit, none the less, she did make a difference in my life. I pray she finds her way and hope our paths will cross again. May she rest in peace and with all my love...

7 Secrets of Success...

kaput...

I realised how important the internet can be, but only if you really need to use it. Going without an internet connection for more than a month, especially having to plan a freakin' holiday or booking a train ticket, plus nauseating exams, can be considerably frustrating...

Oh well, dont take things for granted!!

Jeers!